Choose Your Reality
by Sorceress Fantasia
Summary: They say for every universe that exists, there is another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.
1. Chapter I

Title: Choose Your Reality 1?

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Too many to write here; mainly YY/Y

Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, maybe an OC or two, humour

Archive: Finally Fantasia (my homepage)

Disclaimer: I would love to say I own Yu-gi-Oh, but sadly, I don't. I own only this plot.

Intro: They say that for every universe that exists, there is another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author for 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'.

* * *

When Yami lost the ceremonial battle, he had been prepared to leave for the afterlife like everyone had expected him to. Or so he thought. It had taken only one backward glance, one soulful look and all thoughts of leaving were banished immediately like dust in the wind. It had taken just that to break the heart of the former pharaoh of Kemet, the morning star and the son of the Nile, and he, against his better judgments, decided to live out his mortal life. Yami would never forget the moment he turned back and saw Yugi gazing at him, smiling poignantly while soft tears were gathering in his amethyst eyes.

It had been all well and good in the beginning actually, when Yugi would talk to him enthusiastically and hug him for all he was worth. On his mischievous days, his little hikari would even pounce on him to wake him up. They shared a bed during thunderstorms, snuggled under the same blanket when they were watching a horror movie at home, and picked food from each other's plates. Yami honestly thought that he would have Yugi all to himself forever.

But apparently, even forever had a limit.

Just two months ago, Yugi had gotten up enough courage to ask Anzu, his long-time crush, out for dinner. And he had made it quite clear that it was just the two of them, in a nice, cozy restaurant he had stumbled upon one day.

Yami had not even seen that coming, but he had let it slide, thinking that Anzu was just too shy at rejecting Yugi in front of everyone. After all, he was sure that Anzu had always haboured a crush towards himself. How wrong he was.

Soon, one date became two, and two became three… it wasn't long before Yugi and Anzu were declared an official couple with the catcalls of Jonouchi and Honda from the sidelines. Courtesy of the two loudmouths, news of the relationship swept across the school like wild fire and for days, everyone was amazed at how poised Yugi was when he defended his girlfriend. It was then that things finally sank into Yami's head, that Anzu really liked Yugi, and that the relationship had been set in stone.

After that, it became commonplace for Yami to find himself left at home with Sugoroku jii-san on the many nights that Yugi went out with his girlfriend. Tonight was no different.

He leaned his forehead against the cool windowpane in his room, sighing. He remembered a time when he reveled in the way the raindrops splashed against the windows and how the lightning streaked across the night sky like a huge tear for the rain to fall. But that had been a long time ago, when Yugi would crawl under his covers to seek comfort and warmth from the storm. And Yami always welcomed him with opened arms, holding him close and whispering in his ear when the rain passed, they would see the most magnificent rainbow.

Now, however, the rainstorm was keeping Yugi away from home. Just minutes ago, the hikari had called back, telling him that Mrs. Mizaki forbade him from leaving their house and had in fact prepared a room to let him stay overnight. The rain, she said, was just too heavy for a safe trip.

The logical side of Yami's mind had to agree. From the way it was raining, he wouldn't be surprised if he were to find Domino flooded by the next morning. But the other side of his mind, the possessive side, growled at the loss of his precious aibou. Anzu and her mother were plotting something, he was sure. They were probably busy devising some devious schemes to further ensnare Yugi.

For the umpteenth time for the night, Yami gritted his teeth and pound a frustrated fist against the window. The pane shook in its frame, as though trembling from fear at the pharaoh's wrath. But in his frustration, Yami could see nothing but how his Yugi was drifting away.

How could he have not foreseen this turn of events? How had he let the one he loved so deeply fall for another right before his own eyes?

He had been so sure, that day when Yugi cast him that soulful look as he stood at the threshold of the gate to the afterlife, that his little one loved him. Perhaps even loved him as deeply as he did him. It was for this love that Yami had decided to stay behind. But had he misjudged? Had that soulful look been just a figment of his over-active imagination? Had he fooled himself into believing that Yugi did not want him to leave?

It was too late for regrets, however. Pharaoh Atemu had chosen his fate, and there was no turning back. The gods had warned him, had cautioned him that if he gave up his only chance at the afterlife, he would become mortal and hence be doomed to a mortal life filled with sickness, aging and death. There would be no more shadow magic, no more miracles, and most of all, no more paradise in the afterlife. Where he would go, after his mortal death, would be a result of Anubis' weighing (1) and discretion.

But surely, nothing Anubis deal to him could be worse than what he was already experiencing. An empty house, an empty bed, an empty heart. His heart could not even afford to bleed in pain, for he was supposed to be happy for his hikari, wasn't he? He, as a guardian, should be happy that his young charge was in love with a girl who loved him back! After all, falling in love with a girl was better than falling in love with a boy, especially in this day and age where homosexuals were mostly frowned upon. Yami only had to see how Ryou and Bakura were treated to know this. If it weren't for Bakura's nasty temper and stubbornness, the couple would have been picked on by every bully in the school and then some.

Still, this knowledge didn't ease the pain in his heart.

Yami looked out of the window again. Back in those days of his prosperous kingdom, rain had been a luxury and a joy to see. It was rare; so rare that people thought it was a miracle that it rained at all, let alone a storm as heavy as this one. As the rain cooled down the dry, hot earth like a gift from heaven, it wasn't uncommon for people to wish for something as the gift was bestowed. It was much like how people wished upon a shooting star nowadays.

And tonight, Yami made a wish.

"I only wish for Yugi to return my love, in a world where our love is not judged by the gender of our other half but by the intensity of our feelings. That's all I want, and that's all I ever need," he whispered, voice almost drowned out by the loud splattering of the raindrops. His sigh faded away in the night.

* * *

Strangely, the storm wasn't as bad as it seemed, and two days later, Domino was as dry as it could get. And it was just the right time for the sakura feast, something the group of friends participated every year. It seemed that no one could resist the beauty of the sakura flowers, especially when a breeze came by and swept the fallen petals away in a whirlwind. But actually, this was the one of the rare times that everyone could meet up.

Leaning against a sakura tree trunk, Yami stared across from where he was seated on the straw mat. Jonouchi and Mai were laughing at their own little joke, occasionally poking at each other. Honda and Otogi were trying to drink each other under, much to the distress of their respective girlfriends, Miho and Shizuka. The two girls were already pouting, and it wasn't long before their boyfriends turned back to them. On the other side, Mokuba was eating from the picnic basket and talking animatedly to Anzu; those two had gotten pretty close after Anzu risked her life to save the younger during Battle City. Kaiba was hovering nearby, keeping to himself and at the same time, keeping a watchful eye on his brother.

Nobody asked where Ryou and Bakura were because they all knew. There was little doubt that they were at home, enjoying a little time to themselves and for Ryou to lick his wounds in the privacy of his own apartment. As much as Bakura loved and protected him, even he could not protect the boy's fragile heart from being hurt by the rejection he received from his family. Having invested so much hope in Ryou, his parents were devastated when they found out that their dear little boy was gay.

Yami sulked inwardly. Some parents those two were.

Suddenly, he spied his aibou waving for Anzu. Yami did not bother to even listen to what they were saying. He already knew. Hours earlier, Yugi had showed him, with no small amount of excitement, the thing that was currently threatening to eat his heart out from the core. It was tradition, he said, to carve a love umbrella (2) and the names of lovers under it on a sakura trunk, not just as an open declaration of their love for also as a prayer for happy times ahead. And there it was, staring in his face as though gloating, the love umbrella bearing Yugi and Anzu's names.

"_It's supposed to bless you with a smooth sailing relationship! And others say that it also casts a charm of sorts to make you fall in love even more!" he said with a laugh, hopefulness shining in his amethyst eyes._

So that was how it was? He had given up paradise for a meager existence, ignored by his friends, put aside by his hikari, and forgotten by the rest of the world? Battle City marked the end of days of dueling and hanging out together. It was after that tournament that Jonouchi and the rest quickly found their other halves, and the lovers promptly made their relationship priority. Not even Yami's friendship, the same thing that had tided them over so many challenges and encouraged them to do things they never thought they could, was good enough to keep them with him. The millennium puzzle that still hung from both Yami and Yugi's necks no longer bound them together as a yami and a hikari; its weight served only as mockery directed at him, telling him that he was just that: a burden.

He laughed deprecatingly, soft enough to let the winds carry it away. But Yami was certain that even if he laughed out loud, no one would notice his presence. The couples were too caught up in themselves to care; even Kaiba had his brother to fuss over.

Yami slipped away silently. It was getting too hard to stay there, bearing witness to what he wanted but could never have. His little angel was too busy romancing his girlfriend to notice how he always looked at him with such love, with such tenderness.

* * *

Usually, when the sakura bloomed and the sweet smell wafted through the chilly air, the streets would be packed with bustling activity under every sakura tree. People danced under it, picnicked under, sang under it. Everyone in Japan seemed to love the annual sakura feast. This year, however, the avenues were oddly empty except for a few sparse families picnicking. Still, the number of love umbrellas on the trees did not seem to decrease.

Yami's heart wrenched. He continued walking along the streets, not knowing where to go. He was reluctant to return home; Sugoroku jii-san would only worry for him.

That was when he saw it. A solitary sakura tree -an oddity in itself since the trees usually grew in bunches- with a clean, untouched trunk. The flowers were more brightly coloured and more beautiful than the others, and its trunk slim and yet sturdy. Its beauty was unrivalled, its strength unmatched. It was as though it were a phoenix standing among a bunch of sparrows, its sparkling feathers dimming the dull brown of its counterparts'. It was too easy to tell which the truly striking one was.

It seemed to beckon Yami, and he answered without a word, walking towards it in a trance-like state. Standing before it, he made a decision. He pulled out the small ornamental dagger –a gift from Yugi after his so-called rebirth- he always carried and plunged it into the thick bark. With a few swift strokes, he finished up a seamless love umbrella, with his name on one side. Ruby eyes burning with a little more determination, he started to carve another name onto it, the name of the one he would always love. Yugi.

"Yugi…" he whispered forlornly, tracing a finger over the name. Closing his eyes, he made his wish again.

"If you are as good as Yugi says, then give me his love. Let him love me like he loves no other. And let me be his only one. Forever."

A gust of wind rushed down, pulling the sakura petals with it and before Yami knew it, there was a shower of pink upon him. A dreamier person would probably see it as a shower of blessing, but Yami knew better. He had been made cynical, made skeptical. His friends had made sure of that.

Mentally chastising himself, he turned to go. It was about time he returned… but to where, he didn't know.

tbc-

(1): According to legends, Egyptians are required to let Anubis weigh their hearts against objects representing truth and justice after their death. Basically, it's just like what Shadi did with the millennium scales.

(2): I have seriously no idea what to call this thing they carve on the sakura trunks. It looks like an arrow more than an umbrella actually, and people carve their names and the names of their boyfriend/girlfriend under it on the other side of the arrow.


	2. Chapter II

Title: Choose Your Reality 2?

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Too many to write here; mainly **YY/Y**

Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, maybe an OC or two, humour

Archive: Finally Fantasia (my homepage)

Disclaimer: I would love to say I own Yu-gi-Oh, but sadly, I don't. I own only this plot.

Intro: They say that for every universe that exists, there would be another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author for 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres.'

* * *

One moment, he was walking along the sakura avenues, his dishearten aura providing a sharp contrast to the cheery atmosphere of the showing flowers; the next moment, he was enveloped in darkness that was eating away at him.

* * *

He was floating in darkness again, much like how it was in the 5000 years that had passed. Doomed once again to endless drifting, eternally feeling the dark waters lapping at his body. It was no big deal, really. After all, he had endured 5 millenniums of this pitiful existence before; what were another 5, or even 10 millenniums? But it was different… this time, and he knew it. 

Because this time… this time… he had tasted, for that scarce moment, the joys of love.

He would always remember how his heart swelled when on rainy days, his beloved would stand nervously by the threshold of his door, holding his pillow and biting his lips as he waited for permission to slip under the covers with him. The way the lightning flashed across the sky, casting an ethereal glow on his face and bringing out the sparkle in those amethyst eyes always made his heart beat faster.

And he would also remember how his world would quickly expand to encompass the entire universe and for that instant, believe that they were the only two existing in the world, whenever his little one wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his head against his chest. The way his warm breaths whispered across his chest drove him crazy, but he would never give it up for anything else.

His beloved could set his heart on fire with just a gentle smile; give his heart the set of perfect wings with just one caring word!

But he would never know that.

Light… A beam of light… right in front of him. It was floating just there, the faint beams flickering. He reached out for it, feeling the darkness pulling him down. He wanted a bit of that light, a bit of that glow. But it eluded him, fading away like the dusty sands of the Egyptian deserts and his hands could feel nothing but a soft whisper. He gave up.

Then, in his crimson eyes, he spied another. Another beam of light. One much brighter than the one that was before him earlier, and it was right behind him. He spun around, the darkness loosening their grip temporarily. Quickly, he took the chance and swiped desperately at the light. Perhaps it was fate, for the light was in his immediate reach.

Suddenly, the light brightened, and it engulfed the world in its glory.

* * *

Someone was stroking his hand. Slim fingers locked with his own in a firm but gentle grip, and slowly, his hand was brought up to soft, pliant lips. 

His eyes flew open, and all that greeted him was a sterile white ceiling and air that had been steeped in antibiotics. Feeling instantly out of place, he bolted up with a gasp. His heart was throbbing much too hard against his chest, and his throat too dry. Something wasn't right. Then, it came to him. He was in a hospital! The smell, the colour of the ceiling… he had seen and felt all those when his little aibou had gotten a high fever and was admitted into one. For days, he could only sit by Yugi's bed, memorizing every feature on that struggling face, while people dressed in stark whiteness shuffled in and out of the room.

The room. Probably the same damn place he was in right now.

"Yami!"

It was then that Yami turned to his side, noticing for the first time that he wasn't alone in the room. There, beside him on a stiff plastic chair, was Yugi holding his hand and smiling while pearl-like tears cascaded down his face. His expression spelt nothing but heartfelt relief.

"Yami, you're finally awake! Oh gods… You've finally woken up…" Yugi whispered into Yami's hand, which he still held despite the latter's sudden state of consciousness.

The ex-pharaoh was too surprised at the fact that Yugi, his secret love through all these years, had just kissed his hand to even register those words. Hesitantly, he reached out and with a gentle caress, wiped away the falling tears.

"Don't cry, hikari. Please don't cry."

Yugi responded with another tender kiss to his hand, sighing into it.

"I'm just too happy, Yami. I almost thought you were never going to wake up. Never going to wake up…" –he choked- "…and leave me in this world alone. You have no idea how scared I was when Jou told me he'd found you unconscious on the streets, and when I came here, the doctors couldn't tell me what exactly was wrong with you…"

Yami's mind finally broke out of the fogginess and he frowned.

"Unconscious on the street?" he echoed. When he searched his mind, all he got was a blank. The last thing he remembered was carving the love umbrella on the sakura tree and then walking away… When had he blacked out?

…Blacked out?

Right… there had been lights. But what of them? Yami couldn't remember.

"And now, half the doctors here are convinced that you'd just over-exerted yourself, and the other half thinks you've gotten some strange, exotic disease. Luckily, they haven't gotten up the courage to make you their guinea pig since we're Kaiba's personal friends," Yugi said with a light chuckle, still sniffing. "I'll go get the doctor now and call everyone up. I bet they'll be just as ecstatic as I am to know that you've finally woken up."

"Wait!" Yami called out, leaning out to grab Yugi's wrist. "Don't go."

"But Yami, you need a doctor now…"

Yami had no idea what possessed him, but he silenced his hikari in the most delicious way possible. It was just a touch of lips, chaste and yet firm. Then, he felt an overwhelming urge overcoming his senses, burning his body. The spark of previously suppressed passion had finally been set loose, and Yami gave in. Pressing Yugi's body closer to his own, he took the chance when Yugi gasped and pushed his tongue inside the warm mouth.

A voice inside him told him that he could have just stolen his hikari's first kiss (he wasn't sure how far Yugi had already gone with Anzu), but instead of stopping the kiss, Yami intensified it. He reasoned that if he could not have his love, at least he wanted Yugi's first kiss and some memories of intimacy with him. Besides, if Yugi got mad, he could always claim confusion from just waking up.

However, it seemed that there was no need for that.

Having gotten past his initial shock, Yugi seemed entirely too enthusiastic and much too passionate for someone who was already attached and supposedly straight. Yugi's arms hooked behind Yami's neck in sweet caress, his body leaning in more and more until every inch of their bodies were pressed tightly together, his lithe tongue submitting in their intricate dance, and his moans! Oh, the way Yugi mewed and groaned… it sent more than a mere shiver down Yami's body. And he could tell. He could tell that Yugi was subduing his moans. If Yugi was truly moaning and whimpering in the privacy of their house, with no attempts at keeping quiet, Yami couldn't imagine how his body would react. Already, he was having problems finding even a shred of his usual self-control.

Not that he wanted to.

Yami's hands started to roam from Yugi's back, slowly, sensually, until they were deliciously caressing the younger boy's thighs. Even through the fabric, Yami could feel the softness of Yugi's thighs under his hand, and Yugi moaned again.

Sparks flew, fireworks lit up, fire engulfed their lips… but all that was so cliché, and didn't even begin to describe what the kiss was like.

Finally, as suddenly as it started, it ended. But their lips were still only an inch apart.

As Yami gazed into the clear violets of the boy he loved so deeply, however, the consequences of that kiss finally sank into his head. Contritely, he looked away.

Or at least tried to, because Yugi's hands that were cupping his cheeks held him in place.

"Yami… I love you too," he breathed, leaning in for a punctuating kiss before burying his face into Yami's chest.

It was an understatement to say that the older boy's jaws dropped, that his eyes widened, or that he slumped back into his bed in a boneless pile.

* * *

When Yami woke up again, it was to the sound of bottles clinking against each other and something metallic. 

"Oh! You're awake!" someone, a young woman probably, exclaimed with no small amount of amusement in her voice.

Yami opened his eyes fully, blinking a few times before his vision cleared up. There, standing in front of his bed, was a blonde nurse holding a clipboard and smiling at him. Her nametag simply read 'Nancy. B.' Vaguely, Yami wondered if the 'B' in her name stood for 'Bouncy', for the women could hardly seem to stand still and her golden hair that ended in curls, were bouncing as she did.

"You know, as surprising as it can be when your boyfriend kisses you sometimes, you must be the only one to actually pass out from the shock. I guess that kiss must have been something, huh?" she teased. Then with a sigh, she added, "It just makes me so envious to see you two together. That sweet little boy. He's been waiting by your bedside since you were admitted, never leaving for much except school, and that's almost four days ago! You two are so, so sweet!"

He wasn't sure how to react at the way she was gushing, but he wasn't too concerned about that. What he was more concerned about was that he had blacked out again? And it was right after his kiss with Yugi. How embarrassing. Vaguely, he wondered if Yugi was insulted.

"Oh, in case you're wondering, he's getting lunch at the canteen. We threatened to force feed him if he didn't go."

Yami blinked.

"We?"

"Well, me and the other nurses. Yugi is just too sweet. You should see how we fuss over him," she said, snickering. "He should be back in half an hour more. He just left, you know? So yeah, probably half an hour more."

"Nancy, how many time do I have to tell you to leave the patients in peace? You're probably giving him a headache."

Yami turned to his right, where a frowning nurse was strutting in. Her black hair contrasted sharply with the pink uniform, and she had a posh air around him that made him think of an arrogant poodle. If she was a poodle, then Nancy was probably a Chihuahua.

"Oh, Vicky!" Nancy squealed, jumping into the other woman who caught her with little hassle like she had fully expected the action. Then, to Yami's utter shock, the two women promptly engaged in a kiss that could probably rival his kiss with Yugi. What in the world were they doing? Kissing in full view of the public? Did they have a death wish or something? Ryou's sad brown eyes flashed across his mind.

When the kiss ended, Vicky snapped at him, "What are you gawking at? You've got your own boyfriend to kiss."

"But you two… both of you are… women!" he answered, pointing almost shakily at them.

"Of course we are. See our boobs and our pink uniform?" Vicky said, rolling her eyes. "And no, we cannot afford sex change operations."

"Dear, I think he'd knocked his head too hard. He got admitted here because he was found unconscious on the streets," –Nancy pointed at the clipboard- "Remember? He must have hit his head, and now he's getting confused…"

"But to forget how to differentiate between men and women?"

"No! Not that!" Nancy answered, flailing her fists cutely. "He was shocked at how we, two women, were kissing. Maybe you forgot… that… you know?" Then, she turned to Yami.

"Okay, let me ask you this… Who's supposed to get together? A man and another man, or a man and a woman?" she asked, anxiously holding her breath for an answer.

Yami blinked.

"A man… and… a woman?"

When Nancy started to whine and Vicky slapped her forehead, Yami regretted answering at all.

"Nancy's right! You did hit your head too hard! And to think all that hair didn't cushion your fall at all!" the brunette yelled. Then, she gripped his shoulders, forcing him to look into her dark brown eyes.

"Listen to me carefully, and remember everything I'm going to say. By laws of nature, a man and a woman cannot -I repeat- cannot be together! It's not just immoral. It's also illegal. You can get arrested for saying things like that!"

Yami cocked his head in utter confusion.

"By laws of nature? But there's no way you can procreate that way, unless you do it artificially. So how is that natural?"

"That's just a turn of phrase. And yes, we have babies through artificial insemination. But you don't have to worry about all those details yet. You don't look old enough to get married. Economically speaking, at least," –she shrugged- "The important thing now is for you to know that men are supposed to be with other men, and women are supposed to be with other women. No way around that. It's law. It's naturally. It's the way things have been for… well, since the beginning of time!"

Nancy was nodding furiously beside her.

There was something inherently wrong with Vicky's words, but Yami couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't anything grammatical…

"Isn't that why you have a boyfriend? Little Yugi?"

Ah, that was what was wrong. As far as he could remember, men did not marry another men. Neither did women marry another women. But according to what he had been blasted with for the last ten minutes, what he always thought was true wasn't true. At least, not anymore. Suddenly, it sank, like all the other revelations he had earlier, like lead in water.

"WHAT?"

"Oh, shut it," the brunette barked.

Nancy, apparently, knew when it was to steer the conversation away.

"I think Yami needs his rest now. Vicky, let's go. I want that back massage you promised me just now," she whined, already pushing her girlfriend out of the room. Before the door swung close, she shot another playful wink at the patient, and Yami was left gaping after them. Yup, she was a Chihuahua alright.

Slowly, he laughed nervously. Just where was he? Surely this wasn't where he remembered. Or had he simply, like Nancy said, hit his head too hard? But why did he pass out at the roadside? Something must have happened to him in the span of time between leaving the sakura tree and ending up in the hospital. But what?

Spying the television set nearby, it gave him an idea. Quickly, he switched it on.

A few minutes later, he switched it off, horrified by what he had just seen. Yet, in his mind, the words of the newscaster were still echoing.

'In entertainment news, actress Kinoshita Kaneko has just announced her engagement to her longtime girlfriend! Her manager says that the wedding has been set to be later this year, and arrangements for the wedding feast have already started. Kinoshita's ex-girlfriend, singer Minamino Sakura, expressed her happiness at seeing the couple tie the knot.

"It's good that they're getting married. I was wondering when they would do it! Sigh, it's really wonderful how this world is. Women getting married to women, and men to men. It's so right!"

And in other news…'

Darn, Yami thought. Just where in the world was he? More importantly, was he even in his world?

tbc-

**Challenge:** This was something I initially meant for the ML only, but since no one managed to answer it (or did nobody bother to? P), I'm moving the challenge here to give my readers a chance. It's simple. Just tell me the name of the movie the two nurses (Vicky and Nancy. B) are from. Yup, if you're hyper sensitive, you'd probably have noticed their names sounds familiar. Truth be told, i ripped them off from one of my favourite movies. However, it's just the names.

Now, the clues:

1) Nancy does not use this name until near the end of the show. She uses an alias that starts with a B in the movie.

2) Hair colours for the two nurses are correct. Although Nancy has a tendency to change her hair colour, she was a blonde for the most part.

3) This is a Hollywood, romantic comedythat went to cinemas in 2003, but the show is set the 60s or the 50s. Nancy is the female lead, and is played by a Hollywood actress whose initials are R.Z. (I think that's a dead giveaway) and plays opposite the male lead whose initials are E.M. Vicky is something like Nancy's sidekick cum best friend.

4) Remember: I took only the names and not the personality! That means that Nancy is so /not/ an airhead in the movie, and Vicky is hardly so cool and aloof.

I know it's very difficult, so the prizes are good. The first person who gives me the correct answer gets one of the three following as a prize:

1) A part in the fic 'Choose Your Reality'. I need at least one more OC, and I suck at coming up with names. Don't worry, no Mary-Sues, and this character will interact with Yami.

2) A fic dedicated to you, which means you get to choose the next fic I write from the ones I'm already writing.

3) A fic written especially for you, provided it's a one-shot and under 3000 words. You get to give me the plot-bunny too, of course.

**Replies to reviews: **

Yamishadowcat22 - Well, after reading this chappie, do you think Yami's wish has come true/sniggers/

luvingYAMI - I hope the 'son' was a typo for 'soon'! Ha... Anyway, I don't see how anyone could NOT fall in love with Yami either, so here it is! A love-stuck Yugi! You'll get to see why in the next chappie!

Master Elora Dannan - If you've read my other fics, you'll see that I'm not one who writes a lot of angst. I usually go for the happy stuff, and that is reflected in what i write. But somehow, i'm not too sure about this fic. I'm not sure if you'd categorize it fluffy happy or sad happy. But it is happy, i assure you. /winks/

Masaka1 - Thank you! Is this chappie fluffy enough to make you feel better/chuckles/

citrus luver - Well, now Atemu's in the parallel universe already. Any idea how he got there? Cuz i'm not telling until the final chappie! It's the mystery! Bwa ha ha... Okay, i feel like Godzilla on rampage now. Thanx for the C&C!

anon - After reading this chappie, i hope you like it. The... well, suggestion, you gave me is one of the things i had considered when i was writing it, but technically... hmm, i don't know how to explain it. I actually need the sudden shift to get the story flowing. Erm, you'll understand what i mean by the end of this fic, if you're still reading by then. But i did base this fic on a one-shot manga by Watase Yuu, so...

Lily Maxwell The Dark Angel - Thank you sooo much! I wanted to find out the name of the love umbrella, but i had no idea where to check it up! Thank you thank you! Anyway, I am quite sure that Anubis is the one who does the weighing, but Osiris is the lord of the underworld who will sort of precede over the weighing. And thanks for telling me the name of the feather! My encyclopedia just didn't list out the item Anubis weighed the heart against! Thanx again!

xamosy - Himeno! My exams are over now! Thank you!

tati1 - Erm... I won't go there... That's too dramatic. Ha... This fic is not exactly very Egyptian; I only brought in the thing about Anubis to show the sacrifice Yami had made to stay with Yugi. But there's actually very little supernatural elements here, so no worries. /winks/

Sansi - Thank you/blushes/ I've no idea what to say except a very big thank you and a bear hug!

DarkRemembrence - New chappie up now! Thank you!

Genki Birdie - Hope this chappie lived up to your expectations! Thank you!

KNT - Really/passes Kleenex over/ Did this chappie make you feel happier? I hope it did!


	3. Chapter III

Title: Choose Your Reality part 3 of ?

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Too many to write here; mainly YY/Y

Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, maybe an OC or two, humour

Disclaimer: I would love to say I own Yu-gi-Oh, but sadly, I don't. I own only this plot.

Intro: They say that for every universe that exists, there is another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author for 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'.

* * *

His blanket was going to rest in pieces if he kept this up, but Yami couldn't help it. After he finally managed to switch off the television (Yami doubted that he would switch it on again for fear of further trauma), he had dragged himself back to his bed. And once he flopped onto it like a spineless octopus, his hands had gotten the insane urge to do something. Anything. And his blanket became his unfortunate victim.

Vaguely, he wondered if hospitals charged patients for ruined blankets.

But oh, if he had to, Yami was willing to pay for a dozen more blankets. His hands needed to destroy something or he would go crazy. Or maybe he already was crazy. That would explain why what he had always thought to be the rule of the world was suddenly becoming something that was despised and condemned.

_"By laws of nature, a man and a woman cannot -I repeat- cannot be together! It's not just immoral. It's also illegal. You can get arrested for saying things like that!"_

Yami could still see Vicky screaming in his face, already on the verge of shaking him by his collar if it wasn't for Nancy pulling her back. But maybe a bit of shaking would do him some good. Maybe a bit of shaking would shake some sense back into his overloaded mind. Or with his luck, shake whatever remaining sense he had /out/ of his brain.

What world was this? Rather, what had happened to the world he knew? Or perhaps Nancy was right: he had hit his head too hard and got confused. Maybe homosexual relationships had always been the norm, and he had just gotten confused.

But... that did not explain why Yugi's had kissed him back. Why did his aibou kiss him back? And so passionately at that. Even though Yugi had always been affectionate with him, he did not go around kissing people, Anzu or not. Then again, he couldn't still be a couple with Anzu in this world now, not with all that legal trivialities and the apparent... hetero-phobia. Right, hetero-phobia.

So Yugi had kissed him.

At that memory, Yami felt a smile blossoming on his face. Slowly, he raised a finger to his lips, to where he had shared his first kiss with Yugi earlier. He could still feel the warmth, the softness, and the taste. It was sweet, but he couldn't put a finger on... on what type of sweetness it was. Was it the cotton candy type, where it was sweet and felt like one could just melt? Or was it the fizzy drink type of sweetness, where it also made one feel all fuzzy inside? Then again, it could also be the chewing gum type, where the sweetness did not stay long, but one just couldn't stop nibbling and chewing.

Yami continued to mull over that with a dreamy leer, occasionally sniggering aloud. It was only when he felt, rather than see, someone waving a hand in front of his unfocused eyes that he noticed that he was not alone anymore. He blinked.

"Jou? Honda? Anzu?"

They smiled widely at him. He blinked again, turning to his left.

"Otogi? Ryou?"

They smiled at him too, sighing in relief that he still recognized them. Then, Yami he spied movement behind those two, and so he blinked again.

"Bakura? Kaiba?"

He felt his jaws fall. It was common knowledge that Bakura couldn't wait for him to die just so he could pilfer the millennium puzzle. And he had always imagined the older Kaiba tap-dancing on his grave while Mokuba tugged at his trench coat and pleaded for him to stop. Mokuba was so much nicer than his older brother.

"Well, looks like something /did/ cushion that nasty fall, after all," Bakura sneered, but somehow, it was missing that venomous undertone. Without it, the sneer sounded more like a playful teasing. But Bakura never teased, because teasing wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and it wasn't in the tomb robber's genetic make-up to be nice. He gloated, he goaded, he taunted, but he never teased.

Before Yami could replace his jaws, however, Kaiba did the unimaginable. He agreed with Bakura, and Yami quoted, 'the-biggest-piece-of-wannabe-tomb-robber-trash'.

"I suppose it's all that mush inside his head. That would certainly have absorbed all the impact from hitting the ground with his head."

Yami was still reeling from the shock that Kaiba had actually agreed with Bakura - not to mention add onto his comment - that he did not manage to retort like he usually did. Instead, he sputtered.

"Oh, stop being mean, Bakura. Yami just woke up!" Ryou admonished his darker half with a frown. "Besides, Yugi wouldn't be happy if he heard that comment."

The rest nodded their acquiescence.

"Yeah, so cut Yami some slack, Kaiba," Jou said, to which Kaiba responded with a shrug. Then, Jou turned back to his friend. "Hey Yami buddy, you feeling any better? I almost freaked out when I found you lying unconscious on the streets. Thought you were drunk at first, but you never let yourself drink that much! And I don't even remember letting you drink that much at the sakura festival! What happened to you?"

"And you didn't even tell Yugi you were leaving! He worried himself sick about you, you know?" Anzu chided lightly, arms akimbo and looking none too happy. It figures. She was forever worrying about Yugi's well being, and Jou and Honda always got a kick by telling her she was the perfect epitome of a mother-hen. That never settled down well with Anzu though, even if everyone knew it was the truth.

Yami could only shrug; he couldn't remember what had happened before he woke up in the hospital apart from a sakura tree, a love umbrella (1) and a heavy heart. And to think the person who indirectly caused all that was demanding to know why he had gone out by himself without telling his aibou. He had slipped away from the festival while Anzu was busy kissing his Yugi, hadn't he? It was all her fault.

"Can't remember much. Just bits and pieces of the picnic we were having before I woke up here," he replied offhandedly. "Anyway, why are all of you here?"

Otogi shook a finger at him with mock disappointment.

"Of course we're here. We rushed down as soon as Yugi called us and told us that you finally woken up. That took you long enough. What could have happened to land you in hospital in a coma for three days? As far as the doctors know, you're actually really healthy. They still can't understand what could have knocked you out like that."

Yami blinked. He had been unconscious for that long? In all that murkiness, it felt as though he had been out for only a short instant. Three days for a momentary lapse of memories was too much. Vaguely, Yami wondered almost with annoyance how much he had missed. He hated that feeling that things were out of his control.

Then, one of Nancy's stray comments came back to him. Yugi had spent all of his free time by his side? For three days? That would explain why his little angel looked like he was ready to fall asleep on his feet. Yami decided that Yugi was going to get a bit of TLC once they got home.

"Hey Yami, where's Yugi?" Honda asked.

"Oh... he's getting lunch."

The gang nodded.

"Makes sense; there's no other reason why he wouldn't be with you at this time of the day. But I bet the nurses had to drag him all the way to the cafeteria," Jou quipped, earning him no small amount of chuckles from the rest of his friends. "Man, Yugi's been pushing himself too hard. Splitting all his time up between the hospital, school and the game shop. The least he could do is eat something so he wouldn't get sick, yeah?"

"You don't have to worry about that, pup," -Kaiba shrugged- "The nurses here do enough of that."

Yami waited for the outburst he knew Jou would have at the nickname. As much as Yugi had tried to convince him that puppies were cute and loyal almost to a fault, Jou never hid his apparent dislike for the name. He never forgot how Kaiba had once compared him to a dog that had lost and could do nothing but howl and whine pitifully. Not that Kaiba was actually sympathetic enough to take pity on him, of course. But Yami was stunned to silence when Jou only grinned.

"Definitely. Man, Yami, you should have seen just how the nurses reacted to Yugi when they first saw him. I think they were fussing over what they had dubbed the 'cutest thing on earth'," he said, ignoring Bakura's protest that it was only because the nurses hadn't seen his Ryou at that time. "Then they were all over him, pinching his cheeks and swooning all over him."

After placating Bakura, Ryou put his two cents in as well, picking up where Jou had left off.

"I swear the nurses just fell over like bowling pins when they discovered that Yugi was here to visit his live-in boyfriend," –he giggled at the memory- "But after they saw you and Yugi together, they're all just swooning over you two as a couple. I think they're calling you two the 'cutest couple in the hospital'."

"Yeah! You can almost see those lovey dovey hearts floating around them when they see Yugi with you," Honda added with a grin.

"Wai... wai... wait!" Yami sputtered, flailing his arms around and almost throwing his blanket off. He could have sworn he had heard them say... "What did you guys say about me and Yugi?"

Anzu blinked.

"That the nurses are swooning over you two."

"No, before that."

"They're calling you two the 'cutest couple in the hospital'."

"No, before that." But there was key point number one: 'couple'. Yami mentally filed that piece of information away.

The nurses were really upset when they found out that Yugi already had a boyfriend?" she asked in confusion.

Key point number two: 'boyfriend' was filed away as well.

"No, after that."

Everyone started to stare at him, their expressions in sync: all were of utter bewilderment. As far as they could remember, they hadn't missed out any vital information in their short recap. Furthermore, it was nothing Yami wasn't familiar with; Yugi was easily one of the most adorable people around, and it wasn't strange to find girls –and even boys- gazing dreamily at him and asking for a hug. So it wasn't particularly a shocker to them that Yugi had managed to mesmerize the nurses too, though none of them had expected to find /all/ of the nurses swooning over him.

But as they started to converse in hushed tones and hurried voices, there was still one person coherent and astute enough to answer.

"Yami, sometimes I think the size of your ego can solve the famine in Africa," Kaiba started, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning against. With a bored look, he took a few steps closer to Yami's bed. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"You just enjoy reminding everyone that Yugi is your live-in boyfriend and that you two are halfway to the altar, don't you?"

At that, Jou and the rest of the gang laughed heartily, teasing Yami about his ego that even Yugi had not managed to tame. Kaiba continued to look bored, even though there was a faint tugging at the corner of his lips, while Bakura just rolled his eyes and grabbed his hikari closer.

None on them noticed the wide-eyed look Yami was sporting. Neither did they hear the endless echoes of 'couple', 'boyfriend', 'live-in boyfriend' and 'halfway to the altar' resounding in his mind.

"Well, I'll have you know that Jou and I are on the same pinnacle of life as you two. Or maybe we're closer to the altar than you two," Kaiba added, reaching out to pull his boyfriend to his side. Jou only responded with a half-hearted protest, which was quickly quelled by a kiss on his lips.

Yami's jaws dropped.

"So maybe you and Jou are three-quarters to the altar, but you can't beat us!" Bakura said smugly, brandishing the silver ring on his ring hand. He held up Ryou's hand as well, showing everyone the matching ring.

Yami almost choked.

"Honda and I will get there," -Otogi turned to fix Honda with a glare- "Right?"

The other man only nodded quickly, albeit a little sheepishly.

Yami thought he had finally gotten his karma for all that 'mind crushes' he had performed before, but other than that, he thought he was holding up quite well. As well as it was possible for someone who had suddenly found all his friends switching partners (of the other sex, no less!), of course. Hesitantly, he turned to Anzu, wondering if she would drop another bomb on him.

She did, and she never quite understood why news of her imminent engagement to Mai (who was currently away doing photo shoots in Europe) caused Yami to nearly hyperventilate.

* * *

Deciding that her patient had enough stress for the day, though she had no idea why the statuses of his friends' relationships could cause him that much stress, Doctor Yamanaka sent all of them home.

So Yami was left alone to let all the recently acquired information sink into his mind, and also to calm down and retain consciousness. Fainting two times (and one near-miss) in three days was quite enough to fill up his embarrassment quota for the year, so he had no intention of any encores. Instead, he slumped in his bed like a puddle of jelly for a bit of rest, much to the relief of his poor, abused blanket.

But his mind could hardly find any relief in the rest, for epiphany still had not given up on delivering a swift and painful kick to Yami. His previous conversation with his friends was fresh in his mind, and with every kick laced with the key points from epiphany, Yami's headache got worse.

Key point number one: 'couple'.

Key point number two: 'boyfriend'.

Key point number three: 'live-in boyfriend'.

Key point number four: 'halfway to the altar'.

In his fragile state of mind, Yami couldn't be sure if he was coming to the correct conclusion, because from what he could understand, all his friends (including his mortal enemy, Bakura, who strangely, did not seem to act like his mortal enemy anymore) were telling him the same thing: he, Yami Mutou, was the live-in and halfway-to-the-altar boyfriend of Yugi Mutou, his crush since... well, ages past!

Surely, that couldn't be it! He couldn't be Yugi's boyfriend cum lover cum other half cum... whatever else one called one's boyfriend!

But Yugi had returned his kiss earlier. When Yami had kissed him in his frenzied state, Yugi had allowed him to plunder his mouth, had allowed him to caress his body, had allowed him to swallow his every moan and every groan. And Yugi had kissed him back.

Yugi had kissed him back.

Did that mean that Yugi liked him? Loved him, even?

Yami felt his heart pounding and his face burn up. Gods, he had to find out the truth. He had to know if he could embrace Yugi like he had done before, all those months ago. He had to know if Yugi would still peek through the corner of the door during stormy nights, silently asking if he could dive under the blankets with Yami. He had to know if Yugi would still lay his head against his chest, drawing strength from him as Yami drew his. He needed to know!

A soft 'whoosh' of the door alerted Yami, and he turned his head. His heart throbbed painfully when he saw who was there.

Yugi winced sheepishly.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

Yami shook his head as best as he could while pushing himself off from his bed. When he tried to sit up, he found gentle arms supporting him up.

"Be careful," Yugi said, fluffing up the pillow and placing it against the headboard.

Yami could only let himself be supported until he was leaning comfortably against the pillow.

Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded dumbly.

"That's good. I was kinda worried when you fainted earlier," Yugi said, smiling.

Yami blushed. It was going to be hard to live that down; he just had to faint during a kiss, did he? Thoroughly embarrassed, he peered at his aibou through his jagged bangs.

"Anyway, I heard from the nurses that Jou and the rest were here but got chased off by the doctor. What happened? They said something about too much stress?"

Yami did not hear the question. His eyes were fixated on Yugi's cherry lips and how they moved with every word. Unconsciously, he wet his lips.

"Yami?" Yugi asked, leaning forward from the stiff hospital chair to stare at the other curiously.

That action brought his lips only centimeters away from Yami's, and Yami felt his breath catch in his throat. The pounding of his heart against his ribcage was becoming difficult to ignore. And when Yugi's lips moved to speak again, Yami closed the few centimeters separating them, swiftly taking hold of those lips he had always dreamed of.

The kiss started slow, merely a chaste tasting like someone savoring the first sip of red wine in his mouth. It was a bitter taste that eventually gave way to an indefinable sweetness, addictive and desirable. Then, the kiss turned desperate, hands frantically pulling the other closer as if afraid to let go. Their tongues danced together like a couple waltzing in a ballroom, and they moaned their pleasures.

It lasted too short.

Yami breathed heavily as he pulled away slightly, his arms almost trembling at the sheer intensity of the lustful fog that had coursed through his blood just seconds ago. His heart was still pounding, but it was no longer achingly painful. Then, he looked at his partner.

Yugi's chest was heaving as he breathed deeply for the air that Yami had denied him earlier. His lips were slightly swollen and bruised, the colour a brighter shade of red than it had been before. And when he opened his amethyst eyes, the gloss of lust, desire and longing shone clearly.

He was the perfect picture of beauty that would make even the purest of hearts lustful.

And Yami was no saint. He was darkness, and darkness craved for light the same way a stranded man in a desert craved for water. It was a need that if left unsatisfied, led to death.

Slowly, he guided Yugi's lips back to his own again. This time, the kiss was slow and held none of the desperation of their previous kiss. It was like warm water lapping over their skin while they lounged in a pool, comfortable and calming. When the kiss ended, Yugi was already sitting in Yami's laps, and he leaned his head against the other's shoulder, breathing in his scent.

It was only then that the spell that had ensnarled Yami finally broke, and he nearly gasped at what had just transpired. Half afraid that the kisses had only been a figment of his cruel mind, he peered down and finally felt the weight of Yugi's head on his shoulder and the entanglement of their fingers. He let out a breath he did not know he had been holding.

The tranquility was disturbed only when Yugi murmured shyly.

"Yami, I hope you'll come home soon. It's so lonely without you."

Yami could almost hear the contented blush on Yugi's face.

"So... get well soon, okay?" At this, Yugi lifted his head to gaze at Yami in his eyes, a tender smile adorning his face.

"Okay," Yami whispered back dreamily, cupping his hikari's cheek. Before he could lean in for another kiss, however, a cough resounded in the room.

Their heads shot up to see a disgruntled Vicky and an almost swooning Nancy staring at them. Yugi laughed sheepishly, and quickly crawled out of Yami's laps and back into the chair.

"Yugi, as much as it is a happy occasion that your boyfriend finally woke up, it'd be a good idea to keep all sexual explorations to the privacy of your bedroom," the brunette said with an almost deadpanned expression, but there was an undeniable twitch in her lips that was threatening to break. It seemed that Yugi had worked his magic on her too.

"But Vicky, they were so cute!" Nancy protested. "If we just lock the doors for a while, nobody would know!"

Apparently, Yugi had worked his magic on Nancy far too well.

Yugi blushed, his face a healthy scarlet.

"Miss Nancy! We weren't going to-!"

"Aw, you don't have to be shy with us! We understand! Right, Vicky?"

"Miss... Miss Nancy!"

As Yugi tried to explain to the two nurses, Yami couldn't help but chuckle. Maybe this new world (he was sure of this now, after the shocking conversation with his friends) wouldn't be too bad after all.

-tbc-

(1): Um, Lily Maxwell has told me that what I've referred to as a love umbrella is actually called ai ai gase in Japanese. Still, to keep a measure of consistency, I'm still going to call it a love umbrella. Unless one day I decide to revise the fic...

Author's Note: Remember I had left a challenge to all readers in the last chapter, asking you guys to name the movie where Nancy and Vicky were from? Well, the movie is called 'Down with Love', as most of you have figured out. Anyway, Artist Josie was the first to get the answer correct, so she's the winner for this challenge. Her prize, as she has decided, is the third chapter for 'Tears of the Phoenix', and it has already been uploaded. Thanx to everyone who participated!


	4. Chapter IV

Title: Choose Your Reality 4?

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: Too many to write here; mainly YY/Y

Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, minor OCs, humour, fluff and sap

Disclaimer: Yugi belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami... Ahem, so you get the idea. Anyway, I do not own Yugioh. I own only this plot.

Intro: They say that for every universe that exists, there is another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author for 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'. Yugi-tachi are currently 18.

* * *

Being Kaiba's personal friend –not to mention close friend- was still a strange idea that Yami had yet to fully wrap his mind around. But it did have its advantages: the doctors at Kaiba Memorial Hospital didn't have the guts to make you into one of their experimental subjects and released you as soon as they deemed it safe. If he had been in another hospital, Yami was sure they would have kept him for as long as possible just to try to figure out why he, a completely healthy, grown man, could just faint dead away on the streets for no reason whatsoever.

But this was Kaiba Memorial Hospital, and he was Kaiba's personal and close friend, so despite the overwhelming despair of the nurses (especially for the newly formed Yugi fanclub that consisted of almost every nurse and even a good number of the doctors, both male and female, in the hospital), Yami found himself discharged a few days after he woke up.

Picking up his small bag of personal possessions, he left the hospital hand-in-hand with Yugi, who happened to be the only one present when Doctor Yamanaka decided to boot Yami out, saying that he was probably just suffering from exhaustion and maybe a bit of memory loss from shock (though she was never sure where the shock came from. Surely, his friends' relationships couldn't be /that/ shocking?).

"So, where are we going?" he asked, more for the sake of filling the silence rather than for curiosity. It wasn't like he couldn't guess; Yugi's worrywart personality dictated that anyone who wasn't feeling well, not to mention someone had just gotten out of hospital, went home to rest.

"Home, of course! You should take a rest," Yugi replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

Bingo. He knew his hikari too well. In fact, Yami had no doubt that if he was to take an examination about all the perks and quirks that made up Yugi, he would ace it blindfolded and tied up.

Yugi turned his amethyst eyes to him.

"Unless there's somewhere else you want to go?"

"N... No. Let's just go home," Yami answered, quickly turning his head away to hide the blush. The sensation of Yugi's soft hand in his own was strange, to say the least, but not unwanted. Definitely not. Hesitantly, he dragged his thumb across the smooth expanse. When the little hikari did not protest, he let out a breath he had not known he was holding, and tightened his grip, further interlacing their fingers. He almost yelled with joy when Yugi responded by rewarding him with a sweet smile and tightened his grip as well.

Unable to help the goofy grin on his face, Yami hastened his pace, eager to get home for a little time alone with his boyfriend now that jii-chan was on vacation in America.

* * *

As soon as the door was opened, Yami stepped into their house and took a deep breath.

"It sure feels good to be home. I hate the constant smell of antiseptic in the hospital," he remarked, dropping his bag by the side carelessly and flopping himself onto the sofa. He let out a content little sigh and stretched his body. "Ah, that felt good..."

Yugi joined him in the living room after putting the bag on the table so no one would trip over it. Seeing Yami lounging on the sofa, he grinned.

When Yami opened his eyes after his stretch, the first thing he noticed was the unholy gleam in those amethyst eyes. Instead of getting afraid like most people would when Yugi got that look, Yami wet his lips in anticipation. After a few days with this Yugi, he had learnt that his little lover was quite the minx when it came to their relationship, as shy as he could be in other situations. And it was apparent that Yugi had tamed down their activities while in the hospital, suppressing all his groans and moans whenever they kissed. But now, they were at home, and they were all alone.

Alone. Yami liked the ring to it.

Yugi climbed onto the sofa's arm rest where Yami's legs were, and then slowly, almost painfully so, he crawled up, his hands caressing and rubbing Yami's body as he did. Even though the touches and his body were separated by a layer of clothes, it was still so sensual and sexy that Yami could not stop his body from tightening and his breath from shuddering. He drew an especially sharp breath when Yugi's hands whispered over his inner thighs, bypassed his groin and wandered around his torso.

"Nn... Yugi..."

His hands seemed to have a life of their own when they pulled Yugi up, and pinned him down to his body like twin bars of steel, unwilling and unable to let go. Quickly, he moved in for the kill, swooping in for a taste of those pink lips and allowing his hands to explore. Yugi happily let him.

No matter how times they had kissed, Yami always felt like an explorer discovering virgin lands when he plunged his tongue into Yugi's warm mouth. It was exhilarating; it was exciting; it was elating. It was a heady sensation that always sent spine-tinkling bolts of thrill throughout his entire body, and every nerve, every cell could feel it. The electrifying spasms were much desired and always welcomed. And when their tongues dueled, it was like exploring the previously undiscovered land of joy. It was almost impossible to describe his ecstasy.

Surprising, it was Yami who broke off first.

"I think..." -he panted heavily- "I think that we should stop now. I mean... erm... what I'm saying is..."

Yugi shook his head gently.

"I understand, Yami. You just got home. You must be tired," he said as he started to climb down the sofa. "Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap? I should be in the kitchen by this time anyway. I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner."

Pressing a chaste kiss to Yami's cheek, he started for the kitchen, where the sounds of pans and plates could be heard a few minutes later.

After taking a quick peek to make sure that Yugi wasn't going to come out in a while, Yami sighed and slumped into the sofa like a boneless jellyfish. He willed his heart to stop pounding so hard and his blush –he was sure he was sporting one- to go away. Vaguely, he wondered if he was going to go crazy from the constant closeness and tenderness with his hikari.

It wasn't that he didn't want it. No, he wanted it. He wanted it so desperately that he was willing to do almost anything to have that sort of intimacy with Yugi. But to pine and dream of it was one thing. To actually have the full package all of a sudden was a little overwhelming. And while he knew that he was Yugi's live-in and halfway-to-the-altar boyfriend, he still found it difficult to fully accept that he /really/ was Yugi's live-in and halfway-to-the-altar boyfriend.

Dreams and reality were just so different.

Dream Yugi was a lover who constantly blushed but never shied away from his touches. He was the meek little lover who looked away with a shy smile when Yami gazed at him and the smiling angel who welcomed him into his heart and bed with opened arms. He seldom initiated any sexual acts; instead, he was always waiting for Yami to make the first move and participated sensually when things got heavy.

Reality Yugi was a different matter altogether.

He was the lover who blushed but never shied away. But he wasn't exactly meek. Not really. He smiled the sweetest smile possible for a human when Yami gazed at him, grinned heartily as he welcomed him with opened arms. But it wasn't just his arms that were beckoning for him; Yami could almost see the faint outline of an angel's wings behind Yugi. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. He took the first step when Yami did not and met Yami half-way when Yami was hesitant, participating actively even before things got heavy.

And Yami loved it.

But really, it was too good to be true. And he was never that lucky. Meeting his hikari was the luckiest thing to happen to him in the 5000 odd years, and Yami was sure that alone had maxed out his luck for the next five millenniums. He was never a very lucky person.

He sighed. Slowly, he got off the sofa and dragged himself upstairs. He needed a real nap to get rid of all those depressing thoughts. And maybe he would wake up to find himself back in his world, in the world where Yugi loved Anzu and not him. He sighed again.

* * *

Yami had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His room was... a store room. When had it become a store room? There were boxes of stuff stacked up to the ceiling, shelves filled with things he had never seen before, and his bed was missing!

He backed out of the room and peered at the corridor. One, two, three! This /was/ the third door after the stairs! It /was/ his room! So where were his things?

Then suddenly, a stray thought struck him and he considered the idea for a moment. Apparently, it made sense to the agitated ex-pharaoh, so he left the room and headed for the second door after the stairs - Yugi's room - instead.

He cocked his head when he noticed that the room was quite different from what he had remembered from the other world.

There were two sets of almost every piece of furniture; there were two chairs, two tables, two closets, two fans and who knew what else! Well, there were two sets of most stuff except the bed. Yami blushed. The bed was queen-sized. The bed was meant for two people. So he not only shared a room with Yugi, they also shared a bed? And jii-chan let them?

Pushing that errant thought aside for the moment, he looked around more closely. That was when he noticed that where there used to be photos of Yugi and Anzu together was very different. The photo frames were still there – the exact same ones, in fact – but Anzu was not present in all of the photos except the one with the whole gang. And even that photo was different. Yami remembered that photo had only himself, Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda and Ryou. Otogi had been absent from school that day and Bakura refused to do anything as girly as posing for a picture, so they weren't in the photo. But this photo... this photo he was holding now... everyone was present. And he did mean everyone.

Apart from the six of them, Otogi, Bakura, Mokuba and even Kaiba were present.

And the photos of Anzu and Yugi together were all replaced by pictures of himself and Yugi. He swept them all with a glance. There was one where he was embracing Yugi from the back and Yugi leaning into him; another one where they were smiling at the camera; one of them hugging each other tightly... and there was even one where Yami was carrying Yugi bridal-style, and Yugi looked like he was a blushing bride on their way to their nuptial room. But they were both smiling.

Still in disbelief, Yami pulled out the drawer where he knew Yugi kept all his gifts from Anzu. Like that ring they had exchanged and that small teddy bear keychain Anzu had gotten Yugi as a memento for a wonderful date at a theme park. Yami raised an eyebrow when the drawer was pulled full out. Everything was gone. In their place were some trinkets, CDs, and small pieces of paper with sweet messages that were signed in his name. He had a feeling that all those were gifts he had given Yugi.

Beside that drawer was another drawer, which he remembered was where Yugi kept his stationery. But when he opened it, it seemed like it was where /he/ kept the things Yugi had given him, as proven by the notes of love that were written in Yugi's neat handwriting. The short phrases like 'I love you', 'I miss you' and 'with hugs and kisses' warmed his heart.

He wondered what else he could find. All of a sudden, it felt like he was playing one of those 'spot the differences' games. But this time, it was a whole room of differences.

In a matter of minutes, Yami discovered that there were little traces of Anzu in the room. There were some small presents from her, all of them being the typical friend-to-friend type of presents and nothing too elaborate. Instead, there were lots of his touches. For instance, he could see there were lots of things in the room that spelt of his taste. They looked like the kind of things he would give him hikari. For instance, leather cuffs, leather chokers, and the likes. Also, all of his personal belongings were in this room as opposed to being in his own room in the other world. And there was twice the amount of hair gel in the room.

He was down to the last place now: the nightstand. In his world, it was where Yugi kept his mandatory two boxes of tissues and some medication. Yugi was always coming down with the flu.

Yami looked at the thing warily, as though it would leap up and bite him. Somehow, he had a feeling he wasn't going to find the tissues and flu meds there because in all the days he had been around this Yugi, he had showed no signs of flu at all.

Slowly, he reached for the handle to the little drawer, his heart pounding.

What he found nearly gave him a heart attack.

Just as he had expected, there were no traces of any tissue boxes – just a few packets - or any medication. Or if there was any, he certainly wasn't looking at them because his eyes were so transfixed on something else that they were almost popping out.

In a weird mix of embarrassment, excitement, astonishment and mildly scandalized, he poked at the neat line of various tubes of lubricant, all new and still in their wrappers. There was kiwi, strawberry, raspberries, citrus and all sorts of other flavours. He was sure that if the stores sold it, they had it. And then there was a half-used tube of strawberry flavoured lube near the end of that line. Actually, there was another tube of that just beside it, but it was all empty. A small voice inside Yami's head noted that maybe strawberry was their favourite flavour, but it was definitely not registering in his head.

Then, his hand acting on its own, he dug passed the lines of lube and found another startling discovery near the back of the drawer: packets and packets of condoms. Well, logically, it shouldn't be so much a startling discovery since he had found the lube, but in Yami's state of shock, everything seemed to be magnified.

So with his jaws slack and looking at the tube of strawberry lubricant and the packet of condom in his hands, he blinked and stayed silent. Finally, he could only utter, "Oh my god..."

And he repeated that for the better part of the next few minutes until a sinful sense of pleasure overtook his shock.

It was a soft, almost inaudible, laugh at first. But it quickly turned into joyful bursts of laughter that caused his shoulders to shudder and his entire frame to shake. When it died down, Yami was still smiling so widely it was unlike his usual cool demeanor.

"Oh my god...! We... we actually have this in our nightstand! And this tube is half-empty! Do we...? Do we actually... do that?" he whispered to himself, his voice shaking with happiness. The part of himself that had continued to worry about the truth of his relationship with Yugi was put to rest; after all, he knew Yugi wasn't the type who slept around, even if the partner was his boyfriend. If Yugi slept with the person, he had to be in love and committed to the relationship. He had to.

Unbidden images swamped his mind in an avalanche, and Yami sighed contentedly. A half-naked Yugi gathering the covers around himself as he sat on the bed and beckoned for him. A naked Yugi wrapped in the covers as he lay on the bed and waited for him. A naked Yugi waving the tube of strawberry flavoured lube and a packet of condom at him while lying on the bed.

He was getting to the part where a naked Yugi was offering the items to him when he heard a voice.

"Yami?"

He nearly jumped, half in guilt and half in surprise.

"Yugi?"

The boy was kneeling in front of him, gazing at him curiously.

"I tried to shout from the kitchen that dinner's ready... But you didn't seem to have heard me. So I came up."

"Oh." That was when Yami noticed that he was still holding onto the lube and condom. Embarrassed enough to want to melt through the floor and not appear for the next century, he quickly tossed them back into the drawer and slammed it shut, much to Yugi's amusement.

"Heh, let's go down for dinner."

* * *

All throughout dinner, Yami found it extremely difficult to look at Yugi in the eye. But, the annoying voice inside him piped up, everyone knew about their relationship. Kaiba even called him Yugi's live-in and halfway-to-the-altar boyfriend. A little romping and fooling around was to be expected, wasn't it?

Yami took another bite of the macaroni and cheese.

But Yugi didn't seem like the type who'd sleep with anyone, serious boyfriend or not, before marriage. After all, he was the cute, sweet, innocent one, and everyone knew that. And Anzu even covered his ears whenever Jou or one of the other guys traded lewd jokes. Yugi and Ryou were the only ones to blush like crazy when they had accidentally found a condom in Otogi's bag.

He fed himself another spoonful.

Still, that voice inside him acted up again, Yugi was a teenager, and teenagers were known for their excessive hormonal activities. Furthermore, Jou had effectively destroyed that sweet, innocent image once when he lent Yugi a pornographic film (1). So Yugi wasn't /that/ innocent. It wasn't surprising that he would do what he'd done.

Yami sipped a little water.

And whatever Yugi'd done, it was with him! Him, Yugi's protector and all-around mother hen. Or in Kaiba's words, Yugi's live-in and halfway-to-the-altar boyfriend. Man, he loved the way that sounded! There was a definite charm to it.

"Yami?"

He blinked.

"Are you alright? You've been having this... strange look on your face for the past few minutes. Is dinner bad?"

"No, no..." – he quickly shook his head – "I was just thinking."

"Of what?"

"Stuff!" That was a stupid answer if he knew one, so Yami quickly added, "You know, the doctor said that I have a little memory loss from shock, and I couldn't really recognize some of the things we have in our room, so I was just wondering... maybe you could help jog my memory? Just a bit, you know."

Yugi's face fell.

"Oh... you... really can't remember everything? Do you erm, you know, remember me?"

"Of course I do, hikari! I would never forget you! Anyone but you!"

A smile blossomed on the younger teen's face, and Yami felt himself smiling as well.

"Me too, you know. I would never forget you, Yami," Yugi murmured shyly, peering at him from under his bangs.

And the warmth Yami had never known burst forth from within his body, filling his heart and mind with a caressing whisper. Suddenly, he was filled with the urge to jump across the table and tackle his young lover to the floor with kisses and maybe a bit of fondling.

"So..."

"I guess we could go through some of our photo albums," Yugi suggested. "We do have a lot of them."

"After dinner then."

"Right, after dinner."

* * *

Yami thought his life couldn't get any better. After his little discovery in their bedroom and a wonderful dinner his hikari had prepared for him, it was real icing on the cake when he got to curl up with Yugi in their room, flipping through photo albums. He even got to wrap one arm around Yugi's shoulders and press their thighs together, which Yami thought was pure bliss.

"See... these are my parents. Don't know if you remember it, but I've told you about them before," Yugi said, pointing to a particular photo that had two women posing for the camera. One of them had black hair with red ends, and she looked truly like a demure gentle lady. The other, seemingly the more dominant one, had golden hair and an attitude to match.

"Wait... your parents?"

Yugi nodded.

Yami had to remind himself that homosexual relationships were the norm in this world, and bit back the 'how do two females have a child?' comment. Child-birth and pregnancy were probably things that had already been institutionalized. Maybe they had sperm banks or things like that.

"They're beautiful. And I can see where you got your hair from," he replied, carefully tugging a lock of Yugi's soft hair. "Where are they now?"

That was meant to be a conversational topic, but Yami mentally chided himself once that question was out of his mouth. He remembered that Yugi's parents (the other Yugi's) had long turned into dust and ashes, so it was highly possible that they had met with the same fate here. It was at least partially confirmed when he noticed his hikari's eyes glaze over.

"They died in a highway accident when I was only three."

Yami winced.

"I... I'm sorry, hikari."

"Don't be. You just... didn't remember it. Besides, it's been so long. The only memories I have of that time was jii-chan holding me, crying softly, and telling me that my parents weren't coming back," Yugi replied softly, then leaned in closer to Yami to snuggled against his chest. Wrapping his arms around his lover's torso, he released a shaky sigh.

"It's just that... sometimes I wonder how life would be now if they didn't die."

Yami felt his heart ache at the wistful tone.

"Well, for one, I wouldn't have met Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, Ryou and Otogi. And I wouldn't have met you," he whispered, returning Yugi's embrace and holding him tighter. "I wouldn't be here, with you in my arms now."

"Yami..."

"What would I have done without you?" Yami eyes clouded over, remembering how his life had been in the darkness of the puzzle, chained to swirls of confusion, pain and helplessness. The darkness invaded his soul like a whisper of smoke, slowly at first, so slowly that he did not even recognize its presence. It seeped into his skin, bit by bit, until he was drenched and soaking in it. Then when he finally realized its invasion, he was already drowning in the darkness. It was painful and yet, he could find no will to struggle or to resist. All sense of time lost, Yami just let the shadows continue gnawing at his soul.

The warmth that came was sudden, so sudden that Yami had flinched. He remembered panicking, but even that lasted barely a moment before it flitted away. The warmth came again, carefully nudging him.

Yami blinked. When his eyes focused, all he could see were pools of amethyst, sparkling like stars in the night skies, brimming with concern.

"Yugi?"

Yugi nodded, a smile on his face.

"You wouldn't have done anything. You wouldn't need to. Because I would find you. No matter what, I would find you, and we would live together like we do now."

There was so much sincerity and love in Yugi's voice Yami couldn't help but believe. He tightened his embrace.

* * *

It was already close to midnight, and most of the houses around theirs had gone completely dark, but neither seemed to have noticed. They were too caught up in their exploration of memories to care.

Vaguely, Yami wondered how much they had spent on developing all the photos. So far, he had already seen photos of everyone at various events. Birthday parties, graduation party (for Mokuba), friends getting together, their first holiday at Okinawa together, their kisses and hugs... and there was even one of a hotel room with rumpled sheets. Yugi had said, with a deep flush, that it was taken on the morning after. He did not elaborate, except that Yami had booked the room for Valentine's Day.

Yami almost cried out for joy.

"This one. Do you remember when we took it?" Yugi asked, pointing to another photo. "I think this is the only photo we have of our first few years together. We didn't have a camera back then. But a neighbour had one frame left in his roll of film, and he asked if he could take a picture of me. But you wouldn't let me do it alone!" he laughed.

Yami picked up the album, peering intently at the particular photo. Caressing it, he remained silent. There, captured in a still moment, was himself looking confused and Yugi looking considerably younger. How confused he looked, and how young Yugi looked. Much too confused to look like him, and much too young than he could remember.

It felt otherworldly in his hands.

Finally, he asked, "How old were you?"

"13, I guess."

"But… you hadn't finished the puzzle then. You only finished it when you were 17."

"No, I didn't. I finished the puzzle when I was 12."

"12?" Yami cried. He remembered the day Yugi had finished the puzzle. It was a month after his 17th birthday, and a day before truly befriending Jounouchi. He had quickly inhabited Yugi's body, taking over even to finish off Ushio, the school bully who had threatened and beat up Yugi. But apparently, it was different here.

Yugi nodded.

"Yeah. I was 12 then, with no real friends whom I could have a heart-to-heart with and a whole bunch of admirers who couldn't see the real me. And then you appeared out of the puzzle, gave me your friendship, protected me and loved me. You were the best friend I could ever hope for. Still are, in fact. And this one," –he quickly pointed to another photo- "was taken the day after we confessed to each other. Our first day as a couple!"

Yami ignored the mad pounding of his heart and asked, "How old were you?"

"15!"

Good, at least he wasn't a pedophile. But he still had to know something. Just how different was this world to his?

"Yugi... what happened after I appeared? Did I share a body with you?"

"Share a body with me? Well, most of the time, you don't do that. It makes it difficult for us to touch each other."

Big difference here, Yami thought. If he could materialize his body early on instead of having to wait for divine intervention, maybe Yugi would have become his a long time ago and Anzu wouldn't even have a chance.

"So... what happened immediately after I appeared?"

Yugi giggled.

"I remember being so surprised by your sudden appearance I fell off my chair. And then you rushed to my side to make sure I was okay," he paused, seemingly lost in his memories again. But then he came back around, and offered a smile so dazzling it almost made Yami sigh in awe.

"When I saw how worried and concerned you were, I knew at that moment you were different from everyone else. That you would protect and truly love me. And you did. Everyone else just thought I was some magnificent masterpiece, either to be put on the highest pedestal and worshipped, or to be stolen and owned, kept away from everyone else. You can hardly imagine the number of times I've been stalked, followed, almost kidnapped and all those stuff!" he chuckled.

"But you... you saw me differently. You saw me as a person, a person made of flesh and blood. You're the only person other than jii-chan to see that. Even Jounouchi and the others think of me as an angel sometimes. But I'm not. Angels roam the skies and clouds, and I walk on the land just like any other man. I'm just Yugi. I'm just me," he murmured softly, cupping Yami's cheeks in his hands and quietly caressing his face.

Yugi's amethyst eyes shimmered with the deepest of emotions and with the purest of sincerity. In an instant, Yami thought, all the darkness in heart and soul were chased away by the bright light that was his Yugi. Despite what the hikari thought about himself, there was little doubt in Yami's mind that he was an angel of earth, born of the heavens but bred on the ground. And with every step he took, he only left a trail of happiness behind. It was no coincidence that his angel had been brought to earth; he was meant to salvage his soul and dissipate his darkness.

It was Yugi who broke the silence.

"How do you do that?"

Yami blinked.

"Do what?"

"Look at me, like you haven't seen me everyday for the past 6 years."

_Because I haven't. Not in the last year. You've been out so much._

But Yami did not say anything. Instead, he captured Yugi's lips in a tender kiss.

-tbc-

(1) This actually happened in book 1, chapter 2 of the manga.

A/N: So now we see just how much this Yugi loves Yami. It's been another fluffy chapter, but the angst will set in soon! Time for a bit of torture... Heh heh. For anyone who still doesn't understand the difference between this world and the other world Yami came from, basically it's like this:

In this world: Yugi solved the puzzle when he was 12, whereupon they became friends (protector/charge) immediately (protects him not from school bullies but from obsessed stalkers; Yugi is deemed as too cute to be true in this world). Yami materialized his physical body by himself (instead of divine intervention) and they became a couple at 15.

In the other world: Yugi solved the puzzle when he was 17, and Yami inhabited his body. Basically, it's the anime that we know. The only difference is that Yami did not leave for the afterlife, and he received a physical body so he can stay with Yugi.

**Replies to reviews:**

**citrus luver** - Is this world perfect enough? Ho... and Yami is getting it all! But like I said, the angst is going to set in real soon.

**Soul Dreamer** - Thanx! The next chapter will take a while though.

**Yamishadowcat 22** - Updated! Like this chapter?

**xamosy** - himeno-chan! You haven't been around as much lately! Anyway, Yami's shock about everyone switching partners has worn off pretty much by now, but the things he found in the nightstand is going to shock him for a while more... Heh.

**Sansi** - Yups! This fic is getting to be pretty long. Currently, I'm guessing it willhave around 10 chapters. Heh... I don't just write one-shots you know/sniggers/

**vixenia** - Updated! Thanx!

**Kailyssia** - What's happened to the other Yami? Well... you'll see. /continues to plot/ Thanx for the review!

**Hikari** **Skysong** - Heh, they're kissing more in this chapter! Good, ne? At least Yami is really, really happy about it! Ha...


	5. Chapter V

Title: Choose Your Reality 5?  
Author: Sorceress Fantasia  
Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, minor OCs, humour, fluff and sap  
Disclaimer: Yugi belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami... Ahem, so you get the idea. Anyway, I do not own Yugioh. I own only this plot.

Intro: They say that for every universe that exists, there is another universe that runs parallel to it. But when Yami discovers that, he also finds himself faced with two Yugis: one who sees him as his best friend, and another who loves him more than life itself.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author of 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"I'm sure, little one. You have work to do, don't you? I'll be fine."

When Yugi frowned, Yami sighed amusedly.

"Yugi, I'm just going to get some groceries. What can happen?"

"Faint?" the younger one suggested almost nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow.

Yami had the grace to flush, but he quickly recovered. "It's been two months, Yugi."

"Yes, but you still get dizzy spells sometimes."

Yami flushed harder. He quickly said, "I promise to be back as soon as possible, and if –that's a very big if- I feel unwell, I'll call for help. Really."

Finally, Yugi nodded with a sigh. "Just remember you have Kaiba-kun on speed dial in your cell phone. I just programmed it last night."

It was still a little difficult to accept that he was on such good terms with Kaiba in this world, but Yami nodded. He wouldn't make it out of the front door of their house if he didn't, he noted inwardly. Yugi had always been a fussbudget, and ever since returning home from the hospital 2 months ago, Yami learnt that those fussing tendencies had gotten a lot worse. It was nothing Yami couldn't handle though, and in fact, he secretly reveled in the extra attention his lover was paying him. In the beginning, at least.

Then, Yami noticed that Yugi was still staring at him.

"Well then, I'm off," he said, kissing his lover soundly before leaving.

"Be careful out there!" Yugi replied, waving him goodbye at the door.

Yami thought he heard the door to their house slammed shut only when he rounded a corner, and he frowned. As much as he enjoyed having Yugi's extra attention, there was a thin line between fussing over someone and being smothering. So even though the grocery store was only a short walk from the kame game shop, Yami thought that the little bit of time alone would be good.

Something was really off with their relationship.

When he had been yearning for Yugi, back in the other world, Yami had noticed a constant emptiness in his heart which his aibou had once filled before dating Anzu. It was a dreadful feeling, to know who could complete his life and yet could do little to get Yugi back by his side.

Then, all of a sudden, Yami found himself in a new world, and Yugi was head over heels in love with him. While he loved Yugi, he soon noticed another emotion welling up inside of him: discomfort. And once the initial ecstasy had worn off, Yami could only feel the discomfort growing. Perhaps it was a discomfort that stemmed from being tied down suddenly, a lack of freedom and having another person in his life. It was just like when he had first became Yugi's partner and best friend, but also quite different. But he really couldn't be sure. Was that the reason? Where did the discomfort come from, really?

Yami knew Yugi felt something wasn't right either. For a relationship that had been going on for 6 years, there were no other plausible reasons as to why they suddenly experienced instances of awkward silence, among other things.

And the worst thing? Their mind link wasn't working. Or rather, they had no mind link at all. They had panicked and tried to feel each other via their links for a whole day before giving up, jokingly blaming it on a temporary network problem, and that it'd be back to normal soon. But it never did. Yugi had been desperate enough to call up Ishizu in Egypt, but the woman had no answers for them. In fact, she had been just as confused as Yugi, and completely unable to comprehend the possibility of a yami and his hikari losing their mind link.

A tiny, irritating voice inside his head told him quite gleefully that whatever the problem was, it was probably a lack of a real sex life. After all, they did have quite the collection of lube and condoms, and they hadn't used any since Yami returned home from the hospital.

Yami frowned. It wasn't that he didn't want Yugi; rather, the problem was that he wanted Yugi too much, and he had no idea how to go about wanting his lover. Whenever they engaged in heavy petting, heavy enough for their clothes to go flying, Yami would freeze up at the important moment and at Yugi's questioning looks, he would try to divert Yugi's attention, but it always ended up in awkwardness and nothing else. Well, that and a lot of sexual frustration. Once or twice, he had pleasured Yugi with his hands and mouth, but it wasn't enough and Yami could tell. So eventually, their heavy make out sessions stopped in intensity, and lately, stopped completely. He even tried to claim that he had dizzy spells so he could get out of their make out sessions, but it was such a far fetched explanation after the first few times. After all, it /had/ been two months since his hospital stay.

He sighed.

Suddenly, he caught a whiff of something familiar and he blinked hard. Shaking off his depressing thoughts, Yami peered to his left, and just as he expected, a lone sakura tree was standing there in the field. It was a really strange place for a single tree to be growing.

Ignoring his trek to the grocery store for the moment, Yami deviated off his path, as though answering someone's summoning in a trance. The little bubble of happiness grew bigger when his eyes fell onto a carving on the tree trunk. He raised a hand to caress it, feeling the rough wooden surface under his fingers.

There, on the trunk, was a love umbrella. There was one in this world too? Had he carved one for the Yugi of this world too?

Yami took a closer look. It was his. His love umbrella. The one he had carved after leaving left their friend's gathering for the sakura festival, the day when Yugi had been too absorbed in Anzu to even notice his existence.

No, to be fair, it was the other Yugi. The Yugi in the other world. The Yugi who smiled and called him his best friend, but never his lover. The Yugi who did not love him, and never would.

And Yami felt his heart wrench in pain, but with it came a realization.

How was the other Yugi doing without him? Did he miss him? Did he notice that Yami was missing? Or was he still off gallivanting with his girlfriend?

Yami shook off the last thought. It wasn't fair to say that about Yugi. The little one was in love, and being in love... tended to make one lose sight of other things. And Yugi had spent most of his dates with their mind link sealed shut. He didn't want to bother Yami with his frivolous feelings if they spilled over, he had said so jokingly. But with their mind link kept shut so frequently, Yami could only feel his hikari drifting away from him more and more everyday. Still, Yami had no idea what he would do if Yugi's love for Anzu did spill over. Would he go crazy?

In the end, he found himself understanding Yugi less and less. There were just too many empty spaces in their relationship that he could not grasp, could not understand. He was never given the chance to.

But even so... even so, Yami couldn't help but love the boy who had held out his hand for him in the darkness, couldn't help but love the boy who had saved him and given him a new lease of life.

He loved Yugi. He loved Yugi more than life itself.

So where was he? Away from the one he loved the most. Away from Yugi. The Yugi waiting for him at home, in this world, wasn't really Yugi. At least, that Yugi wasn't the Yugi he had known throughout all these years.

Then, suddenly, he heard Yugi's voice, resonating and trembling deep within his millennium puzzle. And the voice was so, so sad. Yami thought his heart was going to bleed in pain at the utter hopelessness in that voice.

_'Yami! Yami! Where are you? Please answer me! Please come back to me...'_

His aibou... his Yugi... was calling for him? Was asking for him? A wave of relief rushed into his heart, along with a feeling of being needed again. Yami closed his eyes, willing for the puzzle to strengthen their mind link so he could see or at least feel Yugi's aura. The shadows in the puzzle fizzled for a moment while they got used to powering up again, just like a rusty steel trap that hadn't been used for far too long.

When they finally did get to work, an off-focus image started to appear in Yami's head before sharpening to show Yugi's back. The little hikari was sitting alone on his bed, head bowed and shoulders shaking. He was clearly not happy, his silhouette giving off an aura so miserable Yami could almost feel it, even when he was so far away in another world.

It was almost... how Yami had felt when he was trapped in the puzzle. Shrouded in darkness, wrapped in shadows, and not being able to see a single beam of light. There was only despair, regret, and... hopelessness. Yami's eyes darkened, hands gripping his puzzle tighter.

'Yami... don't you want me anymore? Aren't I your aibou? Please come back... I'm sorry...'

Yugi wrapped his arms around his body to stop his trembling, but he only trembled harder.

At that sight, Yami could not help but feel guilty. Perhaps he had jumped too quickly to conclusions. Perhaps he had wronged Yugi. Yugi had never abandoned him. Not in the way he had thought, at least. There would no reason for Yugi to feel so distressed about his disappearance otherwise. And hadn't he been Yugi's best friend for years before? Hadn't he been the one Yugi ran to whenever the little one encountered problems, or whenever he wanted to share his day's experience? Yami had always been the one he ran to, be it a storm raging outside their house or a decision to buy a certain present for their friend's birthday. Yami felt a smile, one he had almost forgotten and the one he always reserved for Yugi only, tugging on his lips.

He wanted to call out to Yugi, his aibou, that he was alright. He wanted to tell Yugi, his best friend, that it would be okay. He wanted to kiss Yugi's tears away. The powers of the millennium puzzle started to flare to life.

But it was at that moment when he felt, rather than saw, Anzu appearing beside Yugi. She frowned deeply, as though she could also feel Yugi's pain, and embraced Yugi from the back, resting her head near his nape. While Yugi's anguish did not dissipate completely, Yami could feel it easing and when it did, Yugi turned around to return the embrace. Yami immediately shut off their mind link again with a snap. The powers in the puzzle dimmed and fizzled away.

Yami gazed at the love umbrella he had carved all that while ago again. Yami and Yugi, forever. Despite his best efforts, the carving was amateurish; it was sloppy; it was plain. But the words he had carved were truer than any diamonds in the world, more sincere than any flowery words, more heartfelt than even a soul's most sincere song. The carving was Yami's heart laid out for all to see.

However, the image in Yami's mind, the love umbrella Yugi had carved for Anzu, the one that carried the words Yugi and Anzu forever, was superimposed over the one he carved. Yami smiled bitterly, feeling himself fall against the tree.

"Is... Is Anzu still that important to you? Even if I'm not around, she can ease the pain in your heart, help you solve your problems, and she can save you? Even if I'm not around...?" – Yami chuckled self-deprecatingly –"You may be upset now, but one day, you'll realize that life goes on anyway, with or without me. And you'd still have Anzu by your side. You won't need me anymore then. You won't need me anymore..."

Suddenly filled with the need to escape, Yami pushed himself off the blooming sakura tree and turned back for his home. He stumbled at first, mind numb from revelation and heart heavy with pain, but his running soon turned fluid, and then mechanical. His mind went blank.

He did not even notice when he started to cry.

* * *

Yami had little idea how long he had been out, and had even less idea of how quick he was back. Instead, all he knew was he needed to get back inside and see his lover, to feel his lips under his own, to feel his arms wrapped around his back. He needed to feel Yugi.

After a short fumble with his keys, Yami forced the door open, and it ricocheted when it hit the wall. But Yami was already dashing into the house, searching wildly for his lover. Somehow, he couldn't find his vocal cords, couldn't make them work, couldn't shout for Yugi. And the thought never even came into his mind. Instead, he could only tear through the house, ramming every door open, shoving everything obstructing him out of his path.

When he found no signs of his lover in the first floor, he sped up the stairs to their room, faltering once, twice, but always pushing himself off the ground with his hands and quickly dashing off again. Finally, he was at the door, and he tried to push it open but failed. Yami growled low, immediately fumbling with the knob only to find the door firmly locked.

"Yami? Is that you?" A voice inside the room yelled. "Give me a moment!"

That was all the time Yami needed to calm down enough to hear the harsh and hurried 'Bye, Jou! I'll call you again' Yugi said. Then, the door opened, and there was his lover, looking bewildered and confused.

"Sorry I took so long, but I was on the phone with Jou and I didn't expect you to be home so soon..."

Yugi's explanation was cut short when Yami pulled him into a tight embrace.

"...Yami?"

Yami choked, unknowing of the tears that were coursing down his cheeks.

"Just... just let me hug you, Yugi. Just let me feel you..."

It took a while for the message to sink into Yugi's startled mind, but when it did, he wrapped his arms around Yami's shaking shoulders. He paid no attention to the tears that were trekking down his own cheeks.

And the phone lay quietly in the bed, as did everything else in the house.

* * *

Hours later, the tears had finally subsided, and the couple was sitting together in the dining room and drinking hot chocolate.

"What happened, Yami?" Yugi asked softly, setting down his mug on the table and gazing wistfully at the older teen.

"I'm not sure..." Yami paused, staring at his interlocked fingers with clouded eyes. "I was on my way to the grocery store, and I saw a sakura tree, and... it had a love umbrella on it. With our names on it."

"Yeah, you carved that for me the day before you got into the hospital."

"When I looked at it, I... I thought I heard you calling for me. So... So I came back," Yami finished. He felt the weight of Yugi's gaze, and he finally looked up to see Yugi's faint smile.

"You thought I was calling for me? Maybe. I've always called for you whenever you're not by my side, whenever I can't see you."

Neither mentioned that their mind link was still not working. Yami did not mention why their mind link was not working either, but he already knew the answer.

"And I've always needed you," Yami replied.

Yugi smiled bitterly, averting his gaze, and silence reigned for a long while. Finally, Yugi looked into Yami's eyes again.

"Really? You know, I was on the phone with Jou earlier, and I was just telling him how you don't touch me anymore," he said, ignoring his lover's surprised gawk. "What's wrong with us, Yami? It wasn't like this before."

"I..."

"Do you still want me, Yami?"

"Of course I do! I just..."

"Then show me. Show me that you still want me."

Yami bit his lips.

_'Yami... don't you want me anymore? Aren't I your aibou? Please come back... I'm sorry...'_

He closed his eyes, and his decision was made.

Standing up, Yami crossed over to the other side where Yugi was seated, and with an intense look, lifted Yugi into his arms like a bride. They gazed into the other's eyes, and when Yami saw what he wanted in Yugi's violet orbs, he left the dining room and turned up the stairs. During the short walk, Yugi remained quiet, and the only sounds were Yami's footsteps.

Yami kicked the door to their room close.

* * *

Yami never noticed that Yugi snored, as soft as it was. But now, with the little one snuggled against his chest, barrowing into his arms, sated and soundly asleep, Yami could hear the faint snores clearly. It was the first time he could remember lying in bed with Yugi like this, wide awake while the other was asleep. When they stilled shared a body and later a room, Yami was always the one who fell asleep first. Then, he moved out of Yugi's room, and there weren't any chances for him to look at Yugi sleeping anymore.

Apart from that first, it was also the first time they were both completely naked under the sheets.

Yami blushed lightly when he looked over to the nightstand, where a tube of strawberry flavoured lubricant and a used condom were lying. Quietly, he took the tube of lube and carefully screwed the cap back on. They had been too anxious, too eager earlier to keep the lube properly. Once he managed to put the cap back on, Yami put the lube back onto the nightstand and allowed his arm to drape across Yugi's bare shoulders again. He smiled gently when Yugi made a soft sound and snuggled closer.

_'Yami... don't you want me anymore? Aren't I your aibou? Please come back... I'm sorry...'_

That sentence was still echoing in his sound.

"Yugi... It doesn't matter anymore. You have Anzu to be there for you..." Yami whispered. Despite his resignation, however, a chill suddenly grabbed him from within. The warmth quickly came back, however, when the body in his arms snuggled closer. He peered down at Yugi, who was fast asleep and snoring lightly. "Right... it doesn't matter anymore. This Yugi is the one who loves me. You don't... at least not in the way I want you to."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

-tbc-

A/N: I admit that this chapter can be a trying read cuz I'm not always very clear on which Yugi I'm referring to. And even when it seems clear, some of the 'Yugi' here refers to both of them. However, that serves the purpose of showing how Yami is mixing them up himself. So now the angst is here, let's see what the next chapter will bring. It's gonna get more angst-y from here... with some fluff near the end.


	6. Chapter VI

Woah, is this for real? I actually finished a multi-parter! But I bet not a lot of you saw the ending coming so soon, cuz I didn't imagine it would end so soon either. :P But this is it! Here we go!

Title: Choose Your Reality 6/6  
Author: Sorceress Fantasia  
Pairings: Too many to write here; mainly YY/Y  
Warnings: AU, slight angst, spoilers for YGO's ending, minor OCs, fluff and sap  
Disclaimer: Yugi belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami who belongs to Yugi who belongs to Yami... Ahem, so you get the idea. Anyway, I do not own Yugioh. I own only this plot.

Note: Inspired by a short (one-shot, in fact) manga by Watase Yui, who is also the author of 'Fushigi Yugi' and 'Ayashi no Ceres'.

* * *

Sex, in many instances, could solve a whole lot of problems. Like a lover's spat, for instance. Make-up sex, Yami had heard, could be much more passionate and emotionally satisfying than normal sex. Jou had once tried to explain what make-up sex could be like by telling him in detail something he did with Mai, but Yami had raised an eyebrow and questioned his friend's sanity before running off. After all, there was no way Yami was ever going to fall in love with someone other than Yugi, and Yami did not believe in sex without love.

Sometimes, at night, he would muffle himself with a pillow as he imagined Yugi moaning and writhing under his skilful ministrations, softly whispering his name with a raw throat and lidded eyes. And he would try not to imagine Anzu screaming the name he wanted to scream, touching the skin he wanted to touch, and kissing the lips he wanted to kiss.

Yes, there was no doubting that Yami desired making love to Yugi. It was as though through that action alone, he would cement the fact that Yugi belonged to him and him alone. And Yugi would finally stop running off to Anzu every time he had a bit of free time or when she called.

Just last night, Yami had gotten his way. He could finally pin a memory of sensations and a faint smell of vanilla to the many fantasies he'd had. But it wasn't a dream come true, because as many problems sex could solve, it could also cause just as many problems.

At least, that was what Yami thought as he sat slumped in the living room couch, pretending to read the day's papers. The almost amusing headlines 'Canada Legalizes Heterosexual Unions' and 'Domino Mayor Vetoes Heterosexual Unions' failed to attract his attention, for his eyes were glued to the lithe figure puttering in the kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of their late lunch. Their house was nearly silent, except for the sounds of dishes clattering against one another and the constant buzzing of the ceiling fan.

The feeling was completely wrong.

The first time their lips had touched after Yami had just woken up in the hospital, he had felt the sparks burst right behind his eyes and his heart set aflutter. That feeling was like finally having a taste of water after being stranded in the desert for hours. Days even. It was like salvation handed to him on a silver platter, for him to taste, to savour and to hold. And Yami was sure Yugi had felt the same sparks set on fire within his body, the heat rising to his throat.

But as time went by, and the more kisses they exchanged, the feeling began... to dim. It was still there, but everything was just muted. Then, last night, the feeling/that/ feeling, was completely gone. In its place was something much more primal, more savage. And if Yami wanted to be completely honest with himself, it was animalistic even. His body had enjoyed it, and he still felt himself blush when he remembered some of the things they had done. However, once the excitement died off and the passion faded away, Yami could see just how everything was wrong. There was only the physical enjoyment, and the emotional contentment that should have been there wasn't. In fact, there was a distinct gloominess settling in his heart, like the harbinger of a thunderstorm.

Something just wasn't right.

But why?

It was Yugi! He had always wanted to make love to Yugi, hadn't he?

So why weren't the feelings right?

Yugi had felt it too, he knew. Yugi could tell the feelings weren't there too. His little one had been too worn out to vocalize or realize it last night, but once he had woken up this morning, everything just seemed to fall into place. It was like their lovemaking had enabled them both to find previously missing pieces of a gigantic puzzle that was so big that it had clouded their vision, obscured their senses. But now, everything was so clear.

When the sounds of footsteps puttering upstairs died down, and the distant click of a closing door was heard, Yami sighed. He put away the newspapers.

* * *

Yugi was out again. At Jou's place, probably. These days, it seemed that neither of them could stand to be in the house for too long with the other around. Yami smiled self-deprecatingly, but he reached for the phone anyway. It was too late for Yugi to walk home alone, and Kaiba would certainly not be happy if Jou had to walk his friend home and deprive them of their night.

The door bell rang at that moment. Before Yami could even register the thought that Yugi might already be at the door, the bell rang again. And again. And again. Then, there was the distinct sound of someone pounding on the door and someone shouting his name. It reminded Yami of a caged animal slamming its body into its cage, demanding to be released.

When he finally managed to open the door, he was surprised to see Anzu looking back at him with half-lidded, glazed eyes, standing unsteadily and leaning against the wall. Yami was quite sure that if the wall hadn't been there to support her, the girl would have fallen flat on her face long ago.

Anzu blinked for a long while before she lifted a tired finger to point at him, cocking her head and squinting hard like she couldn't see clearly. "Yugi...?" she hiccupped before continuing in a slur, "Ish that yoooou...?"

Yami frowned, the heady smell of alcohol assaulting his nose. She was drunk? And judging that he had not heard any vehicles earlier, she must have walked here. How she had made it to his door, still in one piece and looking none for the worse (except being completely smashed, that is), was a miracle. She was lucky he didn't live in a shadier part of town; if he had, she would have been mugged, stripped and raped before her hangover could even set in. Lucky girl. He felt his eyebrow twitch.

"No, Yugi's out."

She squinted again.

"Yamiii...?"

It was strange how his name sounded so infuriating off her tongue. He sighed.

"Give me a second to grab my keys and coat, Anzu. I'll send you home." He did not even bother asking her in and have a seat or drink some water to alleviate the hangover that would eventually come. Instead, Yami left her standing unsteadily at the opened door and quickly gathered his stuff. Once he had scribbled a quick note to Yugi, he locked the doors and pulled the girl along. He was intent on getting home soon, preferably before Yugi. For what, he had no idea. It wasn't as though he and Yugi really did anything fun together anymore.

Oddly enough, there were no cabs around. The thought of walking Anzu home in her state annoyed Yami, but there seemed to be no way around it. Yugi wouldn't like it very much if he just left her in the streets. And there was no way he was letting her stay in their house; it wasn't as if he didn't have enough problems with Yugi. He could really do without another.

It was a fairly quiet journey, apart from the occasional hiccup and stumbling of footsteps. Which reminded Yami: why was the girl so drunk? She couldn't have been drinking in celebration; she seemed too miserable for it. But from what he had gathered from their past conversations and what little he had heard from their friends, Anzu had everything going for her. Her dance career was quickly shooting her to national stardom, she had a fiancée who loved her, and they would be walking down the aisle sometime next year. She didn't seem to have any things to be depressed over.

Then again, Yami couldn't be too sure. He didn't really know her very well, and he tended to keep away from her like she was some sort of plague. Yami blinked. Why did he dislike her? Anzu was a nice person, so why did he dislike her enough to wish for her early demise sometimes? Searching through his head, he frowned when he could come up with no plausible reasons. He had a feeling his dislike was related to her relationship with Yugi, but it was so... illogical. The nurse back in the hospital, Vicky, had told him quite blatantly that heterosexuality was illegal. So it was impossible for anything to blossom between Yugi and Anzu. Then why did he dislike her? Was he forgetting something?

"Yugiiii..." Anzu's voice shook him out of his reverie.

"I'm Yami."

She did not seem to have heard him.

"Yuuugii..." she chuckled uncontrollably, stopping in her staggers to look at Yami. "You know shomet'ing?" She laughed again, like a little girl who had the world's biggest secret and was dying to tell. "Mai-chan's angry wit' meee... She t'inks I'm not..." –she hiccupped- "She t'inks I dun wanna get married."

Ah, that probably explained why Anzu was smashed. She was about to fall over when she tripped over her own foot, but thankfully, Yami pulled her back in time. However, Yami had overestimated her lethargy, and so put too much strength into his arms. Anzu yelped, and stumbled right into Yami's chest. She giggled again.

"Hey! Let go, Anzu!"

"Dun wanna... I dun ever wanna let you go, Yugi," she slurred, head rested in the crook of his neck and arms wrapped around his torso like he was some plushie. And she had quite a grip, even in her state of drunkenness.

Yami sighed, and continued to drag her along to her place. It was a tedious job, what with her unwilling to let go or walk properly, and she wasn't all that light, even for a dancer. The job was made worse for she kept giggling like a half-insane woman, occasionally blowing raspberries to her non-existent audiences applauding her latest dance moves. It was after a long while when she continued talking again.

"But choo know what? Mai-chan's right. I dun wanna marry her."

"But why? You don't love her?"

"I dooooo!" Anzu whined, almost like a child who had been accused of stealing all the cookies. "I doooo love Mai-chan! But Mai-chan's me friend, not me lover..." Finally, she removed her arms from Yami and took a few staggers backwards. For the first time in the whole night, she actually looked serious, like she wasn't drunk at all. But the faint redness in her cheeks gave her away. "You know Wilhelm Fliess (1)? T'at guy is a... ge... ge... genius! Innate bisexuality!"

Yami frowned. Was Anzu...?

"People are born bisexuals! But! But!" –she wriggled her finger- "But society... society... pressurizes them! Yeah, dat's isht! Society erm, pressurizes them to like only one sex! And our society makes us all homosexuals!" She laughed loudly, as though she was truly amused. Her chest heaved from her laughter, almost in pain. When she spoke again, her voice was only a nearly inaudible whisper, and tears were cascading down her cheeks. "So I can never love you, Yugi. I can never love you..."

The world had never been encased in such deafening silence. It was a stilled snow-globe.

"I... I remember. I remember another world, where heterosexuality is accepted and celebrated. Where you and Yugi are in love..." A fine crack, the width of a spider's spun silk, appeared on the snow-globe. Everything was still at a standstill within.

Anzu smiled through her tears.

"Really? But you must have been dreaming. There can't be such a utopia. But... but if there's really such a world, I want to be there. I need to be there."

The fine crack traveled quickly, streaking across the entire snow-globe in a woven web, and when Yami returned her tearful smile, the glass shattered completely. The water gushed out like a broken dam.

And then there was silence.

* * *

He finally remembered. He wasn't from this world. He came from the world he had described to Anzu. A world where his love for Yugi wasn't returned, nor was it acceptable in society's cold eyes. How could he have forgotten?

Yami felt himself shiver.

So, there were two worlds. Yami was currently in a world that wasn't his own, and his own was out of his reach.

And there were two Yugi. One did not love him as a lover but was crying for his return, and another who loved him but did not love him at the same time.

Thus, it probably made sense to assume that there was two of him too, one for each world. In that case, where was the Yami of this new world? Could he have been thrown into the other world, his world? So they had taken each other's places in each other's worlds?

No, it wasn't possible. If the other Yami had indeed traveled to his world, there would be no reason for Yugi to be crying for him to return.

Then, was the other Yami missing? Or... did he even exist in the first place?

Yami had no idea. Everything was so confusing.

And it seemed that the only thing that remained constant was Anzu's love for Yugi.

He felt his heart fall.

* * *

It was near midnight by the time he got home. And it puzzled him to find one of Kaiba's cars at their front door. Yami softly unlocked the door and snuck inside, trailing along the corridor's wall. He stopped at the living room, where the lights were switched on and a few people were talking softly.

"Yug, don't worry too much about it. Things will resolve itself. Right, Seto?" This one had to be Jounouchi, and it seemed that Kaiba was around too. That explained the car.

"It won't, Jou. It won't." Yugi's voice was resolute, yet resigned.

"Yug..."

"I've tried telling myself that, but... things haven't changed, and they won't be changing. Why is this happening? Why are things falling apart? We were so happy together..."

"Yami," –Yami straightened at the mention of his name- "started to change after waking up in the hospital. If we want to find out the reason for the change, we'll need to know what happened to him to land him in the hospital in the first place." This was undoubtedly Kaiba's voice. And few others could manage this level of reasoning at such a time and situation, anyway.

"I want my Yami back... I just want him to come back... I want him to remember me... remember how we fell in love, why we fell in love... This Yami now... he doesn't love me. He believes he does, but he doesn't. And when we're making love, he doesn't see me...!"

Yami thought his heart was going to die.

"I love him, but I want him to love me too. I want my Yami… I just want him back…"

Yami turned away, leaving no evidence that he had ever returned.

* * *

_'Yami... don't you want me anymore? Aren't I your aibou? Please come back... I'm sorry...'_

_"I love him, but I want him to love me too. I want my Yami... I just want him back..."_

He loved both of them, but he had hurt both of them too.

Yami gazed at his puzzle, the eye of Horus staring back at him relentlessly as he held it up in his hands. The gods had warned him, didn't they? Once he gave up the chance to move on into the afterlife, he would be doomed to live as a mortal, bound by the chains of mortality, pain and illness. There would be no more shadow magic, no more miracles. The once great pharaoh would be on his own. No gods would tend to a mortal who should have died 5000 years ago. He was alone.

But he needed a miracle to right his world again.

He had no idea how long he had been walking, but when he looked up, there was a lone sakura tree standing amidst the field. Its leaves shook with the caress of the wind, and a few petals drifted away until they were out of sight. Yami's feet brought him to before the tree as though in a trance, and the tree was calling. Hesitantly, he raised a hand to the trunk.

_Yami & Yugi forever._

He traced the outline of the love umbrella he had carved what seemed a lifetime ago. Forever. Even forever had an end.

_"Yami! Where are you? Please answer me!"_

He grabbed the puzzle, hearing his Yugi's desolate cries. "Hikari..." he whispered wistfully. "Why are you looking for me?"

_"I need you, Yami! I can't live on without you!"_

"Yes, you can. You have your friends, and you have Anzu."

_"Yami, you're more important than all of them! I need you! Please answer me!"_

"How can I be, when you don't even see me when Anzu is around? You carved the love umbrella for her, not me..." Yami trailed off, then, it was as though something finally struck him, and he gasped. He released the puzzle in his surprise and the one-way mind link was cut off immediately. Raising his hands to the sakura tree again, he was sure the love umbrella he had carved for Yugi was present. Every stroke of it had indeed been created under his own hands, including the much deeper and heavier strokes of Yugi's name.

But how was it possible? He had carved it in his world, not this world! Could it be...? It had to be. This sakura tree was the reason he had been thrown into this strange new world. And it would have to be the way to get answers.

Yami clawed at the tree, punched it, shook it, kicked it, and even knocked it with his puzzle, but the tree did not budge or give a response. In frustration and exhaustion, he slumped against the tree, sliding onto the ground. He panted, relishing the cool night wind when it came his way. Above him, the leaves rustled.

"You've made your decision?"

He took a sharp intake of breath, and looked up. There, standing against the moonlight and looking at him calmly with dull, black eyes, was a young girl, about twelve or thirteen of age. When the wind blew again, her long black hair, a stark contrast to her white kimono with pink edges, whispered with the wind.

"You've made your decision?" she asked again, her voice crisp and eerily calm.

Yami blinked, pushing against the tree and stood up.

"What... what decision?"

"Your decision to stay or return. Have you decided?"

"You... you are... Who are you?"

The girl cocked her head, narrowing her gaze. Slowly, as though convinced that Yami was truly ignorant, she said, "I thought it was fairly obvious." Then, she lifted her right hand and gingerly pulled away her long sleeve, exposing inch upon inch of pale complexion. Her arm would have been smooth, but it was marred by a strange looking scar. It was at that moment that the moon seemed to brighten, and suddenly, the scar was much more visible.

_Yami & Yugi forever._

Yami gasped. "You... You are... the sakura tree?"

"The spirit, to be more precise," she replied, pulling her sleeve over her hand as she did. "All beings in the world are born with a soul. Even inanimate objects. And through the cultivation of our souls over many, many years, we can hope to attain a physical, human form. I believe you humans call us yokai (2)."

"But why? Why did you throw me into this world? Because I scarred you?"

"Didn't you make a wish on me? When you carved this thing on my arm?"

A long forgotten memory surfaced, and Yami's eyes widened.

With a few swift strokes, he finished up a seamless love umbrella, with his name on one side. Ruby eyes burning with a little more determination, he started to carve another name onto it, the name of the one he would always love. Yugi.

"Yugi..." he whispered forlornly, tracing a finger over the name. Closing his eyes, he made his wish again.

"If you are as good as Yugi says, then give me his love. Let him love me like he loves no other. And let me be his only one. Forever."

"I felt your sense of abandonment and hurt. Yet, you still loved him. It made me wonder... What would happen if he loved you back? Would it really become your perfect world? Would someone else get hurt?" she said, almost detachedly, but there was an underlying tone that spoke to Yami. She understood.

It made Yami's ire at being played for a fool seep away. "So you put me into this parallel universe."

Her bored expression did not change, and she started to cross her arms. "Parallel universe? I do not have that sort of power. If you're talking to a yokai millenniums old, perhaps. I'm only centuries old, much too young to have that sort of power."

"So what did you do?"

"I merely created a world from your memories and dreams, and pulled your spirit inside. Since you hated the society that frowned upon homosexual relationships and sympathized with your friends whose love was ridiculed in the real world, I created a world where it was the other way round, and where Yugi has loved you for years. It is your ideal world, was it not? The world you've dreamed of for a very long time. However, it has come to my attention that you are still not happy. Why?"

"Because..." Yami lowered his head, averting her straight gaze. Why? Why wasn't he happy here? He had Yugi's unconditional love, had friends who would help him through anything, and a life where his sexual orientation was accepted. It was everything he had ever wanted. So why he couldn't be happy?

"Because..."

"Because?"

"Because... I need Yugi."

"You have him, and he loves you more than his life."

"He... loves his Yami, not me." The words were coming now, as though they had always been with him but it was only now that he dared to take them out from the dusty corner of his heart. "And I... And I need to go back to my Yugi. He may be the Yugi who loves me, but my Yugi is the one whom I swore to protect, all those years ago when he solved the millennium puzzle." Yami finally found the strength to look up and meet the spirit's gaze. He finally understood himself.

The spirit laughed quietly. "So you've made your decision? You can stay here as long as you like, and this world will always accept your love for Yugi. However, know that your physical body is currently in a coma in the real world. You're only here in spirit. But I suppose you wish to return?"

He nodded resolutely.

She nodded in return, accepting his answer. "Well then, it's off you go." With a wave of her sleeve, the sakura tree behind Yami started to glow, and its flowers detached themselves in a swirl around him. His vision darkened.

Before he completely blacked out, he heard the spirit's smiling voice whisper in his ear.

"Despite what you've been told, know that there will always be miracles and magic in the world. The only problem is if you can see them as such."

He wanted to smile at her, but he felt his strength seep away and his eyes closed.

* * *

When Yami opened his eyes the next time, the boring, white ceiling and the familiar smell of antiseptics were the first things to greet him. He sighed. The spirit certainly wasn't kidding him when she said his body had been in a coma. He was getting sick of hospitals, but it seemed that sitting up was not an option. Not when his muscles were screaming at him. Note to self: don't get up suddenly after being in bed for months. Vaguely, he wondered if time passed in the same speed in the two worlds.

He stretched his neck around, hoping to get a glance at a clock if there was one in the room. That was when he noticed a figure sleeping in a visitor's chair beside his bed.

"Yugi?" he tried calling, but he only succeeded with a throaty rasp before he coughed. Damn dry throat...

Yugi woke up, blinking around blearily. He gasped when he noticed Yami's opened eyes.

"Yami! You've woken up! Oh gods... You've finally woken up! I almost thought you were never going to wake up. Never going to wake up..." –he choked- "...and leave me in this world alone. You have no idea how scared I was when Jou told me he'd found you unconscious on the streets, and when I came here, the doctors couldn't tell me what exactly was wrong with you..."

It all sounded so familiar. Yami was about to point that out when he coughed again, and a flustered Yugi quickly poured a cup of water and held it to his lips. He drank as much as he could in his lying position. When he had enough, he groaned and tried to push the cup away. Yugi quickly got the idea.

As he put the cup away, he started to blabber, "Oh gods, Yami! I'm so sorry for neglecting you the past few weeks! I never meant to leave you alone. But I just... I've no idea why I did that. I know it's an excuse, but I'm really sorry, Yami. I..."

"Yugi."

"I know you don't like Anzu, so you probably got a little mad at me for going out with her, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Yugi."

"I didn't mean to go out with her so much and neglect you."

"Yugi."

Yugi blinked. "Yes, Yami?"

"Where am I?"

"The hospital. You've been in a coma for the past week."

Yami tried to shake his head, but found it was quite a feat for someone lying down in bed. "No, what I mean is..." Was he really back in his world? What if the spirit had decided to use him for another experiment again? He had to know where, which world he was in. "Yugi, if I were to kiss you right here, right now, is that socially acceptable?"

Yugi stared at him for a long moment. He was strangely despondent when he finally answered, "No."

Yami sighed."I had this dream, Yugi. In the dream, homosexual couples weren't just accepted; they were celebrated, they were the norm. And in that dream... we were together. You and I. Together."

They were silent again for a very long moment. Then suddenly, Yugi took Yami's hand and gave him a gentle squeeze. His eyes were glazed, like he was about to cry again. When the tears did fall, Yugi was smiling.

"Dreams do come true sometimes."

He guided Yami's hand to his face, allowing the other to cup his cheek, and sighed contentedly.

Yami stared at him, and he returned the smile.

"Yeah..."

The world halted, and for that moment, it was only them.

-owari-

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(1) Innate bisexuality: Basically, it's a term in Freudian psychology that says that all humans are born bisexual but through psychological development becomes monosexual while the bisexuality remains in a latent state. This idea, however, was incorporated from his associate, Wilhelm Fliess' ideas. Here, Anzu is drunk, so she doesn't seem to be getting the whole idea. And of course, I adapted her speech according to the world she lived in.

(2) Yokai: In Japanese mythology, it is said that all beings have a soul in them, even inanimate ones. And on their 100th birthday, they come to life and are able to manifest themselves.

* * *

A/N: In case any of you are wondering, this is the exact ending I had in mind when I first started this fic. In the 2nd chapter when I posed the question about the origins of Nancy and Vicky the nurses, one of the prizes I had was giving me a name for an OC, and now you have her: the sakura spirit. Since the person who won that small competition did not choose that option, the spirit has no name :P

Anyway... I'm thinking about an epilogue. Do you guys think an epilogue is needed? Review to let me know!

Thanx to all who have supported this fic, and even more thanx to those who have reviewed! If you've read my last drabble, you might know that I'm currently a little depressed over the lack of readership, so please sail on by to my V-day fic if you've got the time! Also, check my profile page to see my writing schedule if you wanna know.


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